A Chinese delegation has visited Russian-held islands claimed by Japan to conduct feasibility studies for joint projects, Kyodo News reported Tuesday.
– The delegation’s visit followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to the island of Etorofu in August, his first visit to the Russian-controlled but Japanese-claimed island chain off Hokkaido, which prompted protests from Tokyo.
– Russia calls the islands the Southern Kuril Islands, while Japan refers to them collectively as the Northern Territories.
– The Chinese delegation from the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, which included businesspeople, visited the largest of the disputed islands, Kyodo reported, citing the government of Sakhalin Oblast, a Russian Far Eastern region that includes the islands.
– Sakhalin authorities said the visit focused on international cooperation, with Gov. Valery Limarenko highlighting the area’s potential for tourism and other businesses.
– Tokyo maintains that the Northern Territories, consisting of Iturup, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, were “illegally” seized by the now-defunct Soviet Union soon after Japan’s surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945.
– Russia argues that the seizure was legitimate.
– The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty since World War II. Tensions have deepened in recent years amid Japan’s sanctions against Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine war.
– The Japanese government summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev to lodge a “strong protest” over Putin’s visit, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the islands were an inherent part of Japanese territory “both historically and under international law.”