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Russia's Foreign Ministry's Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov (in charge of the Asia-Pacific region) said on April 26th (local time) about the joint naval exercise between Japan and the United States near the Russian border, "Acts that increase tensions in the region and threaten Russia's security. "We will warn Japan directly through the diplomatic channel and take retaliation measures when expanding training," he said. On April 12th, the Maritime Self-Defense Force is conducting a joint maritime exercise to send a warning message to North Korea, which has caught the trend of nuclear test preparations with the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. In response, Russia will launch a cruise missile on 14th, two days later, to respond to both Japan and the United States, while on 25th, it will announce a full-scale development plan for the Northern Territories during the territorial dispute with Japan.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister and Far East Plenipotentiary, Yury Trutnev, added, "We will invest in the Kuril Islands, where Japan falsely claims to be illegally occupied, and fully develop it."
The Kuril Islands are a group of islands that stretches for 1,300 kilometers between Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, and are effectively controlled by Russia. However, Japan claims sovereignty over the four southwestern islands of Kunashir Island, Iturup Island, Habomai Islands, and Shitan Island.
Japan is focusing on US-led economic sanctions against Russia triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Typical examples include asset freeze sanctions on Russia's two daughters, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on April 12th, and the expulsion of eight Russian diplomats on 20th. In addition, from March 2nd to April 9th, it accepted 524 Ukrainian refugees.
2022/04/29 09:56 KST
