Among the articles which appeared on Wednesday, July 21, in the Opinion section of The Jakarta Post there was one that drew our Embassy’s particular attention. That article was entitled “China’s Ambitions in Asia and Russia’s lost opportunity with Japan” by Yuriko Koike, a former Japanese defense minister.
Bearing in mind that the article describes the author’s personal views, we would like to set forth the Russian perspectives on the issues highlighted in the article.
First of all, it is necessary to stress that the Southern Kuril Islands are an integral territory of the Russian Federation. This is an objective reality that took shape as an outcome of the Second World War and it has a solid international legal foundation. In particular it is based on the legally binding agreements with Japan and arrangements between the Allied Powers back in 1945, and the United Nations Charter, which was ratified by Japan.
Accordingly, any “return” of those territories has never been, is not, and cannot be considered.
Therefore any attempts to cast doubt on this reality, and whatever reservations they may be accompanied by, are unacceptable, especially amid the repeatedly stated intentions of the Japanese leadership to develop relations with Russia as an important partner in the Asia Pacific region, and the efforts being undertaken by both sides to realize the accords reached by the leaders of Russia and Japan during their meetings in recent years to promote mutually advantageous cooperation in the trade, economic development and other fields.
The ambiguous remarks contained in the article concerning sovereignty over Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, including the references to the said territories as “illegally occupied by Russia” look all the more strange as this Russian territory has already become one of the key areas of close Russian-Japanese cooperation, particularly in such a strategically important sphere such as energy.
The successful realization of the Sakhalin oil and gas projects, including the recent unveiling of a liquefied natural gas plant in Sakhalin, is evidence of this.
It is well known that the Japanese prime minister at that time, Taro Aso, attended the opening ceremony, having arrived in Sakhalin at the invitation of President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, and a very substantive and productive Russian-Japanese meeting at the highest level took place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It is abundantly clear that the statements do not contribute to joint constructive work on the development of Russian-Japanese cooperation, but rather inflict substantial harm upon the overall positive atmosphere of bilateral relations between good neighbors,
without which any solution of complicated issues, including the problem of a peace treaty, is unlikely.
Obviously, the repetition of unfounded territorial claims against Russia may not benefit the dialogue on the conclusion of a Russian-Japanese peace treaty, as well as the entire atmosphere surrounding the contacts between the people of the two countries.
The Russian side has repeatedly warned that such allegations are counterproductive to a bilateral dialogue on a peace treaty. We believe that the primary task is to create a normal, mutually respectful atmosphere that would facilitate the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including dialogue on the sensitive issues.
Sergey G. Tolchenov
Russian Embassy
Jakarta
