Japan's Defence Minister Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has expressed concern overRussia's increasing military activitiesin theFar East region.
Koizumi said during avisit to military basesin Hokkaido on Saturday that this made strengthening the defence of Japan’s northernmost main island essential.
Russia's military posture in the region "is a cause for serious concern along with its strategic cooperation with China", broadcaster NHK reported Koizumi as saying.
"Even as the importance of strengthening the defence of the southwestern regions grows, Hokkaido remains a vital region, and it is necessary to continue maintaining an impeccable defence system here," he added.
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Tokyo has been worried that Russia could open a second front in the Far East. As a result, the Japanese government is rapidly moving forces toward the Russian border on the island of Hokkaido.
Russia has been deploying arms to the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Hokkaido, according to a visiting researcher at Kanazawa University’s Institute of Human and Social Sciences, Shingo Nagata.
Moscow has deployed Su-35 fighter jets and anti-ship missiles to what Tokyo calls the Northern Territories: four disputed islets off Hokkaido’s northeastern coast that Russia administers as the Southern Kuril Islands.
Chinese and Russian forces have also routinely carried out joint exercises in Japanese airspace and waters.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
