- 07 Jun 2018 06:40
#14922103
US military presence as a cornerstone of Russian-Japanese territorial dispute
The United States maintains a veritable empire of military bases throughout the world — about 800 of them in more than 70 countries. Maintaining overseas military bases is a uniquely American preoccupation: the United States has approximately 800 military bases; France and the United Kingdom have roughly 12 each; and Russia, the adversary with the next most overseas bases, has about 9. The adoption of this worldwide American network of military bases began in World War II.
In the Asia Pacific area, there are more than 154,000 active-duty military personnel (330,000 if you include civilians). There are 49 major bases located in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Guam, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Smaller bases are positioned in Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and elsewhere. The Obama administration’s “Asia-pivot” aspired to greater basing access and troop presence in countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Rotating through the Asia Pacific are five aircraft carrier strike groups, including as many as 180 ships and 1,500 aircraft, two-thirds of the Marine Corps’ combat strength, five Army Stryker brigades, and more than half of overall U.S. naval strength.
The presence of the US military facilities in Japan creates obstacles to the resolving the territorial dispute and prevents from concluding a peace treaty between Russia and Japan. In June, 2017 russian President Vladimir Putin raised the bar for discussions on resolving the Northern Territories dispute with Japan by mentioning a potential U.S. threat to his nation if the four islands were returned.
Although Putin has previously spoken about the national security importance to Russia of the Northern Territories, this was the first time the Russian leader publicly raised concerns about U.S. military bases being built on the four islands off the southeastern coast of Hokkaido.
Japanese officials are trying to promote joint economic activity on the islands as a catalyst for pushing forward negotiations with Russia on resolving the territorial dispute. However, those talks are in danger of stalling because of Putin’s mention of national security.
When asked about the possibility of demilitarizing the Northern Territories, Putin said that Russia was bolstering its military presence there to counter moves by the U.S. military. His comment came amid rising tensions in the relationship between Russia and the United States.
Moscow would never allow Washington to deploy a ballistic missile defense system on the Northern Territories. Russia considers the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Chishima Islands archipelago that surrounds the Sea of Okhotsk as a major defense line for the Asia-Pacific region.
Russia considers NATO is a major military threat to national security from the European side and said that a similar development was occurring in the Far East with U.S. missile defense systems being set up in cooperation with Japan and South Korea.
The United States maintains a veritable empire of military bases throughout the world — about 800 of them in more than 70 countries. Maintaining overseas military bases is a uniquely American preoccupation: the United States has approximately 800 military bases; France and the United Kingdom have roughly 12 each; and Russia, the adversary with the next most overseas bases, has about 9. The adoption of this worldwide American network of military bases began in World War II.
In the Asia Pacific area, there are more than 154,000 active-duty military personnel (330,000 if you include civilians). There are 49 major bases located in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Guam, the Marshall Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Smaller bases are positioned in Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and elsewhere. The Obama administration’s “Asia-pivot” aspired to greater basing access and troop presence in countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. Rotating through the Asia Pacific are five aircraft carrier strike groups, including as many as 180 ships and 1,500 aircraft, two-thirds of the Marine Corps’ combat strength, five Army Stryker brigades, and more than half of overall U.S. naval strength.
The presence of the US military facilities in Japan creates obstacles to the resolving the territorial dispute and prevents from concluding a peace treaty between Russia and Japan. In June, 2017 russian President Vladimir Putin raised the bar for discussions on resolving the Northern Territories dispute with Japan by mentioning a potential U.S. threat to his nation if the four islands were returned.
Although Putin has previously spoken about the national security importance to Russia of the Northern Territories, this was the first time the Russian leader publicly raised concerns about U.S. military bases being built on the four islands off the southeastern coast of Hokkaido.
Japanese officials are trying to promote joint economic activity on the islands as a catalyst for pushing forward negotiations with Russia on resolving the territorial dispute. However, those talks are in danger of stalling because of Putin’s mention of national security.
When asked about the possibility of demilitarizing the Northern Territories, Putin said that Russia was bolstering its military presence there to counter moves by the U.S. military. His comment came amid rising tensions in the relationship between Russia and the United States.
Moscow would never allow Washington to deploy a ballistic missile defense system on the Northern Territories. Russia considers the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Chishima Islands archipelago that surrounds the Sea of Okhotsk as a major defense line for the Asia-Pacific region.
Russia considers NATO is a major military threat to national security from the European side and said that a similar development was occurring in the Far East with U.S. missile defense systems being set up in cooperation with Japan and South Korea.
- By Tainari88
- By ingliz