Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
- Recently, Japan described four islands whose ownership it disputes with Russia as illegally occupied in the latest version of a diplomatic Bluebook.
- The use of stronger language underscored the chilled relations between the two sides amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Russia refers to these islands as the Kuril Islands, whereas Japan calls them Northern territories.
- Japan is also having a similar dispute regarding Northern territories with South Korea. South Korea refers to as Dokdo islands.
- The Diplomatic Bluebook of Japan is an annual report on Japan’s foreign policy and international diplomacy published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan.
- It has been published every year since its first issue in September 1957.
Geographic Location and Significance of the Kuril Islands
- The Kuril Islands are stretched from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula separating the Okhotsk Sea from the North Pacific Ocean.
- The chain is part of the belt of geologic instability circling the Pacific (Ring of Fire) and contains at least 100 volcanoes, of which 35 are still active, and many hot springs.
- The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are thought to have offshore reserves of oil and gas.
- Russia has deployed missile systems in the region. Russia also plans a submarine project and intends to prevent any American military use of the islands.
- The Japanese people, especially conservatives in Hokkaido, are emotionally attached to the islands.
- The Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and Russia is over the sovereignty of South Kuril Islands.
- The South Kuril Islands comprise Etorofu island, Kunashiri island, Shikotan island and the Habomai island.
- These islands are claimed by Japan but occupied by Russia as the successor state of the Soviet Union.
Treaty of Shimoda (1855):
In 1855, Japan and Russia concluded the Treaty of Shimoda, which gave control of the four southernmost islands to Japan and the remainder of the chain to Russia.
Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875):
- In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, signed between the two countries in 1875, Russia ceded possession of the Kurils to Japan in exchange for uncontested control of Sakhalin Island.
- However, these islands were again seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.
Current Scenario
- Despite a series of agreements, the dispute continues, and Japan still claims historical rights to the southernmost islands and has tried repeatedly to persuade the Soviet Union and, from 1991, Russia to return those islands to Japanese sovereignty.
- In 2018, the Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister (PM) met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and decided to end the territorial dispute by the Japanese PM agreeing to negotiate based on the 1956 declaration.
- This implicitly showed that Japan has given up the two islands to maintain peace with Russia.
- However, Russia indicated that the joint declaration signed by Japan and the Soviet Union in 1956 neither mentions a basis for returning Habomai and Shikotan nor clarifies which country has sovereignty over the islands.
- Further, in 2019, the Japanese PM made it clear that the country is not in the favour of withdrawing control over the Islands.
- Japan also believes that the islands are an inherent part of the nation’s territory.
- Therefore, Japan mentioned that it aims to sign the peace treaty after the territorial issue is resolved.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT
