Hope for the end of the Ukraine war is diverging little by little as the parties to the war and their allies expand the circle of their conflict to other regions, including the Kuril Islands, which are disputed between Russia and Japan, after Moscow deployed “Bastion” coastal defense missiles in them.
In their comment to “Sky News Arabia”, a Russian expert describes Moscow’s new military move in a quick response to the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, to Ukraine, while a political researcher considers it a Japanese “self-proof” that indicates Tokyo’s involvement in hot global files, and may expand the circle of conflict. Present.
So what happens in the Kuril Islands?
• Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced, on Wednesday, the deployment of “Bastion” missiles on Paramushir Island, one of the Kuril Islands.
• Moscow confirmed that the frigates of the Pacific Fleet will monitor the situation around the clock to control the neighboring waters and the areas of the strait.
• The deployment of the missiles came one day after the start of the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida’s sudden visit to Ukraine and his affirmation of his support for it in its war with Moscow, which in turn came hours after the arrival of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to Russia.
• The four Kuril Islands in the Pacific Ocean are the title of an old conflict between Moscow and Tokyo. Both countries claim that they are an extension of their country’s borders. Russia calls them the “Kurils”, while Japan calls them the “Northern Islands”.
• The Ukraine war came to pour more oil on the conflict, with Tokyo’s explicit declaration of its support for the pro-Ukrainian camp against Russia.
The end of the “self-distancing” policy
Razvojev Oleksandr, a researcher on Russian affairs at the “Middle Tattoo” Center for Studies, concludes from the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to Ukraine that Tokyo is thus:
• It confirms the change in the policy of dissociation, political isolation and neutrality that it has followed since the end of World War II.
• Follow a new approach to global hot files, clearly taking the side of the West.
Oleksandr explains the step of deploying Bastion missiles in the Kuril Islands by saying that Moscow is “seeking to protect its security in the islands that are considered Russian territory,” after Tokyo showed “great hostility” towards Moscow with several moves:
• Joint naval maneuvers with the United States in that region.
• Imposing sanctions on Russia and joining the Western camp.
• Providing Kyiv with intelligence information.
• Increasing its defense budget, thus unleashing wild militarization in that region.
Bastion abilities
According to the Russian researcher, the Bastion missiles:
• Its range is up to 500 km.
• Its main mission is to destroy warships moving on the surface of the sea within a range exceeding 300 km from the coast.
• It can destroy aircraft carriers and landing ships, and in some cases it can be used against ground targets.
• The “Bastion” battery consists of 4 launchers, 2 command and support vehicles, and 4 missile reloading vehicles.
“Self Proof Visit”
Dr. Jassim Al-Hajj Jassim, a researcher in Russian-European affairs, believes that Kishida’s visit to Ukraine “may have come at a Western request from American and British circles, to respond to the broad echo caused by the Chinese president’s visit to Moscow, which was devoted to a great Russian-Chinese partnership in the face of Western incursions on Russia’s borders.” “.
Jassim describes the visit as “a kind of Japanese self-affirmation in global crises, and a return to Tokyo from the big door in the international arena after voluntary or compulsory political isolation imposed on it after its heavy loss in World War II as a result of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.”
