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Tuesday, December 18, 2018, 23:06
Japan protests as Russia builds new barracks on disputed islands
By Reuters
Tuesday, December 18, 2018, 23:06 By Reuters

This Dec 9, 2016 photo shows boats on dry dock at the harbor outside the town of Kurilsk, on the island of Iturup, one of the Kuril islands. Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Dec 17, 2018 that it planned to shift troops on Dec 25 into four housing complexes into two new housing sites on the island of Iturup, and two other complexes on the island of Kunashir in Japan.(ANDREY KOVALENKO / AFP)

MOSCOW — Russia said on Monday it had built new barracks for troops on a disputed chain of islands near Japan and would build more facilities for armored vehicles, prompting a diplomatic protest from Tokyo. 

Russia's Ministry of Defense said it planned to shift troops next week into four housing complexes on two of the four disputed islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. 

Japan's defense ministry says 3,500 Russian troops are deployed on the two larger islands as part of an on-going military buildup. 

This AFP graphic shows a map locating the Kuril islands disputed by Japan and Russia.

The news came after the Kremlin said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might visit Russia on Jan 21 as the two countries step up efforts to defuse the territorial dispute that has prevented them from signing a World War II peace treaty

ALSO READ: Abe expects progress in concluding Japan-Russia peace treaty

Russia's Ministry of Defense said it planned to shift troops next week into four housing complexes on two of the four disputed island. The ministry also said three more barracks are planned for 2019

In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Taro Kono told a regular news conference that Japan would lodge a protest. Japan said in July it had asked Russia to reduce its military activity on the islands, a plea Moscow dismissed as unhelpful megaphone diplomacy at the time. 

"We plan to lodge a protest," Kono told reporters, adding that Japan would clearly state its position during negotiations. 

"The premise of the upcoming negotiations is solving the island issue and concluding a peace treaty," he added. 

Soviet forces seized the four islands at the end of World War Two and Moscow and Tokyo both claim sovereignty over them. 

Diplomats on both sides have spoken of the possibility of reviving a Soviet-era draft agreement that envisaged returning two of the four islands as part of a peace deal. 

President Vladimir Putin and Abe have held numerous face-to-face meetings to try to make progress on the issue. 

READ MORE: Russia 'has no wish' to transfer controversial islands to Japan

Tokyo says it is concerned by what it regards as an unhelpful Russian military build-up on the islands - which has included warplanes, missile defences and other deployments. 

Moscow, meanwhile, says it is perturbed by Japan's roll-out of the Aegis Ashore US missile system, part of Tokyo's new defense plans to counter the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia. 

Russian politicians say they fear Japan might agree to deploy US missile facilities on the islands if any are returned to Tokyo, and that Moscow could only countenance a deal if it received a guarantee that ruled out such a scenario. 

In the meantime, Moscow is fortifying the islands. 

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday it wanted troops and their families to move on Dec 25 into two new housing sites on the island of Iturup (Etorofu in Japan), and into two other complexes on the island of Kunashir (Kunashiri in Japan). 

Troops moved into two similar facilities last year and three more barracks are planned for 2019, the ministry said. 

"Also on both islands we have modern and heated storage facilities for weapons and armored vehicles," the ministry said in a statement, adding that more such facilities were planned.

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