TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Russia intends to cement its control of Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido by deploying sophisticated weapons, such as antiship cruise missiles and an air defense system, defense experts said.
On Tuesday, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian defense official as saying that Russia will deploy Yakhont antiship cruise missiles and the Tor-M2 missile shield in the Kuril island chain that includes the Japanese-claimed islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets.
Russia calls those islands the Southern Kurils while Japan calls them its Northern Territories. Soviet troops seized them shortly after Japan's surrender in World War II.
Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has scaled down its military capabilities in the Southern Kurils, but the latest moves apparently indicate a change in its defense policy there and may exacerbate the territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, the experts said.
Russo-Japanese ties have deteriorated since Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made a one-day trip to Kunashiri Island in November.
During the Cold War era, the Soviet Union deployed around 10,000 troops in the Southern Kurils, but the number is currently around 3,500.
Russia deploys battle tanks there but no fighter jets, and its air and maritime defense capabilities are regarded as relatively weak, they said.
Russia's Yakhont antiship cruise missile is capable of carrying a 200-kilogram warhead over a firing range of about 300 kilometers. It flies above the sea surface at supersonic speed and is difficult to detect by radar.
The United States and Israel have strongly opposed Russia's plan to supply the Yakhont cruise missile, which is called a ship buster due to its destructive capabilities, to Syria.
The Tor-M2 surface-to-air missile system is mounted on a self-propelled launcher and is capable of firing missiles at four targets simultaneously.
Russia also plans to deploy Mi-28 attack helicopters, which are capable of operating at night and are armed with antitank and air-to-air missiles, on Etorofu Island.
Russian Army Gen. Nikolay Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, has said that at least one of the four Mistral-class amphibious assault ships currently under joint construction with France will be deployed in the Russian Far East.
Russia's Pacific fleet, headquartered in Vladivostok, could significantly boost its defense capabilities around the disputed islands if the assault ship is deployed.
A popular Russian radio presenter, Sergey Stillavin, recently wrote on his weblog that he has heard that Japan's ambassador to Russia called in representatives of Japanese business corporations in Moscow and urged them to prepare to return to Japan sometime soon.
Stillavin also wrote that Japan is considering war against Russia in order to get back the disputed islands, a groundless comment that indicates the extent to which bilateral relations have deteriorated.
Igor Korotchenko, chief editor of the Russian magazine "National Defense," said he does not believe Japan would resort to force to get back the disputed islands, adding that the defense buildup there is necessary partly to dampen the fervor of the Japanese people.
But Pavel Felgengauer, a military affairs commentator at the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was critical of the plan. He said he does not think any militant political forces would capture power in Japan, and that Russia's military buildup on the islands does not make sense.
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