Asia-Pacific** Pastoral
On the 19th local time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview that there is no territorial dispute between Russia and any country, including Japan. Since Japan believes that its four northern islands (known in Russia as the South Kuril Islands) are still disputed with Russia, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi raised the issue with Lavrov.
The so-called four northern islands are four islands located south of Sakhalin Island in Russia and in the eastern waters of Hokkaido, Japan: Kunashir Island, Sawatori Island, Shikotan Island, and Hamai Islands, which were annexed by Japan during its expansion. At the end of World War II, the four islands were included in the Soviet Union under the Yalta Agreement. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Japan has repeatedly tried to claim sovereignty over the four islands from Russia, but has been refused.
In fact, Japan came close to reclaiming sovereignty over the four northern islands, and in 2004 Russia decided to return the smaller Hamai Islands and Shikotan Islands, but was rejected by the then Japan** on the grounds that they were too small, accounting for less than 10 percent of the disputed territory, to be of practical significance. Later, as relations between Russia and the United States deteriorated, relations between Russia and Japan also deteriorated, and the possibility of Japan relying on diplomatic negotiations to recover the four islands became even lower. At present, Russia has relocated a large number of residents to the four northern islands to work and live here, and communication facilities such as optical cables and cables are also complete. According to Russia's plan, a free ** zone will be built here in the future, and South Korea will be invited to join in the joint development.
Why does Russia value this place so much?It is mainly divided into natural resource value and geopolitical strategic value. First of all, the geopolitical and strategic value, the four northern islands, is a rare high-altitude natural ice-free port, after Japan, the Soviet Union and Russia continue to develop for more than a hundred years, the four northern islands have a large area of deep-water harbor, is the most convenient channel for the Russian armed forces to enter the ocean, Russia dares to maintain an all-weather strategic presence in the Pacific Ocean, the natural anchorage of the four northern islands is Russia's greatest confidence. Moreover, the control of the four northern islands is also the most convenient means for Russia to maintain deterrence against Japan, most of the standing forces in the Russian Far East are stationed in Sakhalin and the four northern islands, which is also a deterrent position to the Pearl Harbor base in the United States, in World War II, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy led by Nagumo Tadaichi was assembled at the single crown bay anchorage in the four northern islands, and then went straight to Pearl Harbor to set off the Pacific War.
The other value of natural resources is more relevant. The Hokkaido fishing grounds, which have the highest quality of seafood in the world, are located here, and the four northern islands are blessed with abundant aquatic resources. Moreover, a large number of rare metal veins and oil and gas resources are still being discovered on the four northern islands, and the mining value here is extremely high in the future, and for Russia, such resources are urgently needed now.
In this way, the four northern islands have become a treasure that the Russian polar bear has no reason to let go, and it just so happens that Japan is firmly tied to its chariot by the United States, former Japanese Prime Minister ** Shinzo once tried his best to curry favor with Putin to try to get back the sovereignty of the four islands, but it has not worked, and now, ** Shinzo has fallen in a pool of blood on the streets of Nara, how dare Fumio Kishida dare to urgently claim the sovereignty of the four islands?
APD News).