The Quarrel Over Kuril Islands

Security Issues Border issues

02-Aug-23

Context: As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, Moscow is forced to funnel more and more of its military and economic resources to its western border. In Tokyo, conservative voices are hinting the war could give Japan a chance to take control of what the Japanese call the Northern Territories.

The strategically located islands are known as Kuril Islands in Russia, and were seized by Soviet forces in the closing days of WWII.

What is the Kuril Islands Dispute exactly?

A territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over a chain of islands in the North Pacific Ocean is known as the Kuril Islands conflict.
These islands are known as the Kuril Islands in Russia and Northern Territories in Japan.
A similar issue exists between Japan and South Korea over the Northern Territories. Dokdo islands are the name given to them by South Korea.

The islands in dispute are

Iturup Island, also known as Etorofu Island
Island of Kunashir or Kunashiri
Shikotan is a small island off the coast of Japan.
Habomai Island is a small island off the coast of Japan

Geographical Location of Kuril Islands

The Kuril Islands, which separate the Okhotsk Sea from the North Pacific Ocean, span from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
The chain is part of the Ring of Fire, a belt of geologic instability that circles the Pacific and encompasses at least 100 volcanoes, 35 of which are still active, as well as numerous hot springs.

Historical Background of the Kuril Islands Dispute

During the Kuril island landing operation at the end of WWII, the Soviet Union conquered the Kuril island chain.
The Ainu people were the first inhabitants of the Kurils. They were eventually colonized by Russians and Japanese following many voyages in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Before the arrival of the Yamato Japanese and Russians, the Ainu were the original people of the lands around the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Khabarovsk Krai.
In historical Japanese writings, the Ainu or Aynu is also known as the Ezo.
The Ainu have almost completely absorbed into Japanese culture since Japan's colonization of the Hokkaido islands.

Agreements between Japan and Russia over the Kuril Islands

Treaty of Shimoda

The 1855 Treaty of Shimoda, which established diplomatic relations between Russia and Japan, was the first Russo-Japanese accord to deal with the status of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. (1855)

Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875)

Russia gave Japan possession of the Kurils in exchange for undisputed control of Sakhalin Island in the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, signed between the two countries in 1875.
For Russia, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5 was a military failure. The Treaty of Portsmouth, signed at the end of the war in 1905, awarded Japan the southern half of Sakhalin Island.
During World War II, Japan was a German ally, and the USSR was aware of this. Later on, however, Soviet and Japanese troops were on opposing sides.

Yalta Agreement (1945)

The islands were given to the Soviet Union in 1945 as part of the Yalta negotiations (which were codified in the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan), and the Japanese population was returned and replaced by the Soviets.

San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1951

The Allies and Japan signed this treaty in 1951, which declared that Japan must relinquish all rights, titles, and claims to the Kuril Islands while simultaneously refusing to recognize the Soviet Union's authority over them.
Following World War II, the following two treaties further exacerbated the situation, resulting in modern-day Kuril Island disputes.

Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration (1956)

The Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration restored diplomatic relations between Japan and Russia in 1956.
The Soviet Union offered that the conflict is settled by returning Shikotan and Habomai to Japan during the 1956 peace talks between Japan and the Soviet Union.
This was accepted by Japan, and the statement officially ended the conflict between the two countries. However, the Kuril Islands conflict lingered in the shape of territorial interpretation.

China’s ticket to the Pacific?

According to professor Yoichi Shimada, taking over the Kuril islands would give China “access to the Arctic region as well as naval ports directly onto the North Pacific.”
Much of what is today the Russian Far East was until the mid-1800s part of Chinese Manchuria and it is likely that the Chinese government would be interested in accessing the reserves of energy and raw materials that lie beneath Russia’s vast steppes.
Japanese analysts note that Beijing has recently started to refer to Russian Far East cities by their former Chinese names. This includes the port city of Vladivostok and the island of Sakhalin. The island, with its 7 million Russian inhabitants, would stand little chance of resisting a potential Chinese invasion on its own.
Beijing would also have strategic incentives to assume control of the territory. China is hemmed into the relatively shallow coastal waters by the line of islands formed by Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, all of which are hostile to Beijing’s expansionist plans.

Recent Developments

Despite a succession of accords, the controversy persists, with Japan claiming historical rights to the southernmost islands and continuously attempting to persuade the Soviet Union and, beginning in 1991, Russia to return those islands to Japanese control.
On the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to end the territorial dispute, with the Japanese PM agreeing to discuss based on the 1956 declaration.
This demonstrated Japan's willingness to give up the two islands in order to keep pace with Russia.
Russia, on the other hand, claims that the joint declaration signed by Japan and the Soviet Union in 1956 does not specify a foundation for restoring Habomai and Shikotan, nor does it specify which country has authority over the islands.
In 2019, Japan's Prime Minister stated unequivocally that the country does not support relinquishing control of the islands. Japan likewise considers the islands to be an inalienable part of the country's territory and hence plans to sign the peace treaty only when the territorial dispute is addressed.

Significance of Kuril Islands

The islands are bordered by rich fishing grounds and are suspected of having offshore oil and gas potential.
Rare rhenium deposits have also been discovered on Iturup's Kudriavy volcano.
The combustion chambers, turbine blades, and exhaust nozzles of jet engines are made of nickel-based superalloys of rhenium.
Because the islands feature multiple volcanoes and a diverse birdlife that may be used for adventurous activities, tourism has the potential to be a big source of revenue.

Global stand on Kuril Islands Dispute

The islands are surrounded by abundant fishing grounds and are thought to have offshore oil and gas potential.
On Iturup's Kudriavy volcano, rare rhenium deposits have also been identified.
Jet engines use nickel-based superalloys of rhenium for combustion chambers, turbine blades, and exhaust nozzles.
Tourism has the potential to be a large source of revenue because the islands have many volcanoes and a diversified birdlife that may be utilized for adventurous activities.
In 2020, Russia will deploy missile systems in the region, as well as a submarine project, with the goal of preventing any military use of the islands by the United States.
The Japanese people are emotionally devoted to the islands, particularly conservatives in Hokkaido.

Stand taken by the International community on the Kuril Islands

On the Kuril Island conflict, the international community has taken a position.
In 2005, the European Parliament called on Russia to hand up the occupied south Kuril Islands to Japan.
Japan's sovereignty over the islands is recognized by the United States.
China's position on the subject has shifted based on its relationship with Russia.
Because it also claims the Dokdo Islands, the South Korean government has taken a generally neutral approach to the Russia-Japan issue. For more than 300 years, South Korea and Japan have been at odds over this.