Russia Skipped Drill on Disputed Isles on Japan’s Proposal

October 9, 2018

Moscow- Russia refrained from conducting its Vostok 2018 military drill on disputed northwestern Pacific islands last month in line with a Japanese proposal, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday.

Shoigu made the remark at a meeting in Moscow with Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of staff at the Japanese Self-Defense Forces' Joint Staff.

Days before the exercise began on Sept. 11, a top Russian military official said the drill would not be conducted on the islands claimed by Japan.

The islands just off Hokkaido, called the Northern Territories in Japan, were seized from the country by Soviet troops near the end of World War II.

Russia proposed that Japan participate in the exercise, which was one of the largest Russian military drills in the post-Cold War period, as an observer, but Japan did not take part, according to Shoigu.

Kono said his country did not send any observer because of its concerns about the possibility that the disputed islands might be included in the area where the exercise would take place.

But the islands were excluded from the area, Kono said, adding that he highly evaluates Russia's decision to address the Japanese concerns. Jiji Press