Project Sword
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Relations between Japan and Russia, which are strained over the sovereignty dispute over the South Kuril Islands, are facing an even greater crisis because of a missile.
According to reference news, December 27**, a few days ago,Russian spokeswoman Zakharova once again issued a stern warning to the Japanese side on the issue of "Japan's possible transfer of Patriot missiles to the United States."
Zakharova) Zakharova first criticized the actions of the Japanese side for "amending the defense regulations to allow the transfer of Patriot missiles to the United States" and said"The transfer of Patriot missiles may be carried out according to the plan fully verified (by the United States and Japan), and these ammunition will eventually reach Ukraine",This clearly makes an accusation to the United States and Japan that "the United States will inevitably assist Ukraine with missiles produced in Japan."
She then also said that if anti-aircraft missiles produced in Japan were acquired by the Ukrainian army, then such an act would be considered "hostile" by Russia. She warned:"This will have the most serious consequences for Japan in bilateral relations."
Japan's Patriot air defense system).
Zakharova also urged the Japanese authorities not to transfer Japanese-made Patriot missiles to the United States, saying that these missiles, if used to support Ukraine, will only lead to a further prolongation of the suffering of the Ukrainian population and an increase in the number of innocent victims, for which the Tokyo authorities must take full responsibility.
However, as of now, Kishida has not given a clear response to this. A Japanese politician said that according to the previous informal agreement reached between the United States and Japan, Japan will only transfer some PAC-2 and PAC-3 interceptor missiles to the United States, but it is not clear whether Japan will ban the United States from transferring these missiles to Ukraine.
Japan is equipped with quite a few Patriot air defense systems).
Considering Japan's political subordination to the United States, there is reason to think thatIt is likely that these Patriot missiles provided by Japan to the United States will eventually appear on the battlefield of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, just like the artillery shells sold by South Korea to the United StatesAnd this is obviously not something that Japan and South Korea themselves can say - the accusations of the Russian side are clearly reasonable.
As for the so-called "most serious consequences" that Russia may inflict on Japan, the more radical view isFor this reason, the Russian side may unilaterally withdraw its ambassador to Japan and downgrade Russian-Japanese diplomatic relationsHowever, considering the security situation in East Asia, the possibility of the two sides severing diplomatic relations is very small. The more conservative view is thatThe Russian side may withdraw its plan to negotiate with Japan on the sovereignty of the South Kuril Islands (which has been suspended before), and this is one of the "soft underbelly" of Japan's ** and Japanese national sentiment.
The South Kuril Islands are currently controlled by Russia)
As for why Russia is so dissatisfied with this matter, its reaction is much more intense than the previous South Korean artillery shells were used to aid Ukraine, and the main reason may be that the Patriot missiles have brought a lot of trouble to the Russian army.
Although the United States has admitted that some Patriot air defense systems were damaged by targeted attacks by the Russian army in Ukraine, the Ukrainian army still uses the system to cause considerable losses to the Russian Aerospace Forces. According to incomplete statistics,The total number of Russian military aircraft shot down by the Ukrainian army using this system has exceeded 10, including 3 Su-34 fighters on combat bombing missions that were shot down in Kherson a few days ago, and 1 Su-34 and 3 *** that were shot down in the Bryansk region in May this year
The wreckage of the Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber)
It is not difficult to see that although the Russian army still has a clear advantage in the frontal battlefield of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the existence of the Patriot air defense system makes it difficult for the Russian Aerospace Forces to master complete air supremacy, and its first-class air assets are still at risk of being shot down during the operation.
Of course, even if Japan indirectly supplies ammunition to Ukraine, the total number of its launcher systems is still limited, which does not mean that the Patriot system is capable of changing the overall situation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. At least for Russia, although the loss of these fighters makes the Russian army distressed, these losses are by no means unacceptable to Moscow.