MOSCOW (AP) – The Russian military on Tuesday announced the deployment of state-of-the-art air defense missiles on the Pacific islands claimed by Japan.
Russia’s Eastern Military District said in a statement that S-300V4 air defense missile systems have entered combat duty on the Kuril Islands, adding a punch to previously deployed short-range Tor M2 missile systems there.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s TV station, Zvezda, reports that air defense missile systems have been deployed on Eturup, one of the four Kuril Islands in the south.
The new deployment marks the latest in a series of recent Russian military buildups on the islands, including the deployment of advanced fighter jets and anti-ship missiles.
Japan guarantees territorial rights to the islands it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them in the last days of World War II, and the dispute formally ended their hostility by keeping the countries from signing a peace treaty.
Decades of diplomatic efforts for reconciliation talks have yielded no visible results.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe spent a lot of time and effort in office, hoping for some compromise during his nearly eight years in office, but little progress was made.
Shortly after taking office in September, newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihid Suga discussed the territorial dispute in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Suga said he hopes to find a compromise and sign a peace treaty.
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