Russia Conducts Missile Drill near Japan-Claimed Islands

Tokyo, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)–Russia has conducted a missile drill around the northwestern Pacific islands at the center of its territorial dispute with Japan, according to the Russian Pacific Fleet. The exercise followed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Etorofu, one of the four islands known collectively as the Northern Territories in Japan, on Aug. 13, and was apparently intended to demonstrate afresh Moscow’s effective control over the islands. The visit to Etorofu marked Putin’s first trip to any of the islands. The Pacific Fleet said Thursday that a unit for the Bastion surface-to-ship missile system launched a missile from one of the Kuril Islands, including the disputed islands. As the Bastion system has been deployed on Etorofu, the missile is believed to have been fired from the island. The exercise was also participated by the fleet’s flagship missile cruiser Varyag. The warship destroyed all targets over 300 kilometers away, according to the fleet. The Russian government had informed Japan of a plan to conduct a missile drill around Etorofu during the seven days through Saturday this week. Japan’s Foreign Ministry lodged a protest against this through diplomatic channels. The four islands were seized by the former Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II and have long been claimed by the Asian country. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]