Creation of Russian Navy Base on Kuril Islands 'Contradicts Japan Position'

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TOKYO (Sputnik) – On Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia was considering the possibility of setting up a base of the Pacific Fleet on Russia's far eastern Kuril Islands in 2016, while the Russian military would deploy the Bal and Bastion mobile anti-ship missile systems there.



"We express our concern in relation to the statements by [the Russian] defense minister. Possible strengthening of the Russian military infrastructure on four northern islands [South Kuril Islands] contradicts the stance of our government," Suga said at a press conference.

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160328/1037096795/base-islands-position-tokyo.html

 

[GhostZ06]

Japan's defense ministry will keep a unit of 160 troops on the island of Yanaguni, which is only about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Taiwan, to monitor vessels and aircraft in the region.

"This is kind of a power vacuum area," according to Colonel Masashi Yamamoto, military attache with the Japanese embassy in Washington, D.C.

The new Self Defense Force base on Yonaguni is at the western extreme of a string of Japanese islands in the East China Sea, 150 km south of the disputed islands, which are known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

"Considering North Korean activities and the frequent invasion of our territory by China around these islands, we think we need to beef up our intelligence capability so that Japan can react better," Yamamoto said.

The move gives Japan a permanent intelligence gathering post near Taiwan, and the facility could reportedly also be used as a base for military operations in the region.

Japan has said it will increase its Self-Defense Forces in the East China Sea by about one-fifth to almost 10,000 by 2021, including missile batteries that will help Japan draw a defensive curtain along the island chain.

The deployment fits into Japan's military build up along the island chain, which stretches 1,400 km from the Japanese mainland.

The move is part of Japan's strategy of keeping China at bay in the western Pacific as Beijing is seen in Tokyo gaining further strategic control of the neighboring South China Sea.The base is near the edge of a controversial air defense identification zone set up by China in 2013.



http://www.dw.com/en/japan-expands-surveillance-in-east-china-sea/a-19145757


this is what they did recently. i dont know how china is "unhappy" when they are building a make shift island in the middle of jack squat no where