A Japanese reporter once asked which country the four northern islands belong to?China's reply made the other side feel like a thorn in the back
In the 60s of the last century, the then leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, made a startling statement about the controversial Soviet-Japanese issue of the "four northern islands": "It is not impossible for Japan to recover part of the South Kuril Islands, but only if there are no foreign troops stationed in Japan. ”
In the USSR, the four northern islands were called the South Kuril Islands. Khrushchev's statement was very clear, that is, he demanded the withdrawal of US troops stationed in Japan. For the Soviet Union, the presence of US troops in Japan was a great threat.
In order to recover its territory, Japan even considered agreeing to the conditions of the Soviet Union. However, in the face of resolute opposition from the United States, Japan eventually abandoned the idea. Since the loss of the four northern islands in World War II, Japan has not given up its desire to reoccupy the territory.
Japan and Russia have been fighting over sovereignty over the four northern islands for hundreds of years.
For Russia, despite having one of the most vast territories in the world, sea exports are relatively limited. The South Kuril Islands are a strategic artery for Russia on the eastern exit from the Pacific Ocean, and their strategic position is beyond doubt. The Russian nation's insistence on territory made them even more reluctant to cede an inch of land on the four northern islands.
For Japan, the four northern islands are rich in fishery resources and are vital to the development of the Japanese economy. The islands are also said to be rich in ore resources. In addition, from a strategic point of view, the four northern islands are also a powerful barrier to the Japanese mainland.
The South Kuril Islands welcomed the arrival of Russia in 1716. Of the four islands, the Russians found the indigenous people of the islands, the Ezo people. In order to properly rule the region, the Russian army chose to use civilized means to rule and assimilate these natives, rather than them. Russia has created an official administration of the South Kuril Islands and has developed a detailed map of the islands.
From the traditional perspective of international territory, sovereignty is usually vested in the State that first discovered the area. After the Ezo people experienced the cultural domination of Russia, they had come to accept themselves as Russians.
However, Japan recognized the importance and strategic value of the four northern islands later than in the 19th century. In dealing with the issue of sovereignty over the four northern islands, Japan claimed sovereignty over the four islands on the basis of the country that first drew up a map of the four islands.
It is worth noting that in the 19th century, Russia was the world's leading power, while Japan at that time seemed to them to be a relatively weak country. After all, Japan's real rise came after the Meiji Restoration.
Because Japan was a late adjunct to the importance of the four northern islands, in the 19th century, Japan occupied only a small part of the four northern islands by force.
In 1855, taking into account various international situations, Russia and Japan signed a treaty of friendship on the four northern islands. Since then, Japan has acquired most of the territory of the four northern islands, which marked the beginning of a new phase.
In order to obtain Sakhalin Island, which was more abundant in the hands of the Qing Dynasty and more strategically valuable, Tsarist Russia adopted a strategy to make all the four northern islands belong to Japan in exchange for Japan's support and recognition of Tsarist Russia's actual occupation of Sakhalin.
With the agreement, the actual control of the four northern islands was transferred to the Japanese. It is worth noting, however, that after the overthrow of Tsarist rule by the Soviet Union, they tried to regain ownership of the four northern islands. And after Japan's defeat in World War II, the Soviet Union regained its status as a sovereign state over the four northern islands.
So far, Japan still regards "reclaiming" sovereignty over the four northern islands as an important goal of its national strategy.
As of October 7, 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has lasted for seven or eight months. Despite the fact that Ukraine has the support of the West as a whole, it is still under great pressure and has suffered heavy losses. Even within Ukraine, something unusual has emerged. In order to win Japan's support, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a speech on this day, in which he claimed in a 5-minute ** that the land that was once illegally occupied by Russia has been liberated, which is legal, just, and in line with the laws of history.
In **, Zelensky emphasized that historically, Japan is the real sovereign state of the four northern islands, so Japan has the right to recover its own territory.
Apparently, Zelensky is trying to use this rhetoric to enlist the support of Japan. For Japan, Zelensky's remarks are undoubtedly an opportunity to renew the struggle for the four northern islands. Japan may be able to rely on Zelensky's "liberated territory rhetoric" to try to recapture the four northern islands, and win the support of the international community to take the lead in justice.
Later, some Japanese with bad intentions even tried to sow discord between China and Russia and test China's position through the issue of the four northern islands. For these people, once there is a rift in Sino-Russian relations, it will be very beneficial for them. Shortly after Zelensky published the five-minute-long **, a Japanese reporter stood up at a press conference and asked a Chinese spokesperson: "Excuse me, for the four northern islands, which country does China think they belong to?"”
Obviously, the Japanese journalist's question was fraught with scheming. If China directly recognizes that the four northern islands belong to Russia, then the West, which has always been unfriendly to China, will take the opportunity to attack China and have an extremely adverse impact on China's diplomacy.
And if the Chinese side answers that the four northern islands belong to Japan, it will lead to more problems in the friendly relations between China and Russia, especially during the sensitive period of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and such an answer will put China's diplomacy in an extremely passive position.
In response, our spokesman said: "The issue of the South Kuril Islands is a historical issue and an internal affair between Russia and Japan. For our part, we believe that a series of decisions made after the anti-fascist war should be respected and followed. ”
This response was imbued with the wisdom of a great power, and it also disgraced Japanese journalists.
In our answer, we substantiated our support for Russia by substituting the Russian "South Kuril Islands" with the Japanese "Four Northern Islands". At the same time, by citing the decisions made after the anti-fascist war, the claims of our side were skillfully demonstrated.
After the end of World War II, the Soviet Union regained sovereignty over the four northern islands under the Yalta Agreement, a fact that was recognized globally. Zhao Lijian skillfully used this historical event to respond mercilessly to the questions of Japanese reporters, which also made it impossible for the West to find any room for rebuttal. As far as China is concerned, we will always abide by the principle of not participating in any international disputes, and will resolutely not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.