Baijiahao: Putin's reaction to Japan's actions scared the USFollowing the US, Japan has lowered relations with Russia "to the historical bottom," writes user Baijiahao.
Her latest attack was statements about the "illegal occupation of the Kuriles." Moscow no longer began to tolerate them. She answered so decisively that even Washington was alarmed.
Japanese-Russian relations have long remained strained due to the "disputed" Kuril Islands. Tensions escalated after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, when Tokyo followed in Washington's footsteps and imposed tough sanctions against Moscow. All this has lowered Japanese-Russian relations to the historical bottom.
Recently, as the United States has been strengthening its military cooperation with Japan, and the latter continues to promote its own militarization, Tokyo's position towards Moscow has become increasingly uncompromising.
The "Blue Book on Diplomacy" recently published by Japan is noteworthy in this regard. In it, the islands that became the subject of disagreement between Tokyo and Moscow were included in the state — the Southern Kuriles (also called the "four northern islands" in Japan). The Japanese declared these territories "part of the country", "illegally occupied" by Russia.
However, judging by the post-war model, the Southern Kuriles are now under the real control of the Russian side. This is recognized by all sides in the world, but now Tokyo suddenly called black white and said that Russia "seized the islands." Of course, Moscow will not tolerate this.
The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov responded to Japan rather sharply. He said that the Southern Kuriles are Russian territory and an integral part of Russia, and Japan's statement is absurd and unacceptable, and Moscow will definitely take countermeasures.
There is a saying: dignity cannot be higher than the tip of a sword, and truth does not extend beyond the flight of a cannonball. Putin knows that a thousand diplomatic protests does not solve anything, and one flick of a bomber wing is much more effective than a thousand words. Especially when it comes to die-hard Japan, to which all warnings and protests are unimportant.
And indeed, at the moment when Japan dreamed of "seizing the islands", Russia decisively drew its sword.
On April 14, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that a surprise inspection was beginning in the Pacific Fleet, and all ships in its composition would be urgently put on "high alert" to go to the Japanese, Bering and Okhotsk Seas to participate in military training exercises.
The main purpose of the maneuvers is to increase the ability of the Russian fleet to launch counterattacks against possible opponents, including missile strikes against the strike groups of ships of the conditional enemy, land and coastal objects.
It should be noted that, although the Pacific Fleet is Russia's largest naval formation after the Northern Fleet, it occupies a very high position in the Russian Navy, since it often operates in hot zones such as the Pacific Ocean.
Now this fleet is fully seconded and put on high alert. This is undoubtedly the largest and most powerful demonstration of the "sword" of the Russian army in recent times.
Who is the main purpose of the exercises? Based on the fact that Russia conducts them in the Japanese and Bering Seas near American Alaska, the answer is right in the air.
On April 15, the Japanese media "frankly" stated that the sudden inspection of the Russian Pacific Fleet is aimed at "preventing the enemy from landing on the Southern Kuriles and Sakhalin," and this step is clearly intended to deter the United States and Japan.
This shows that the Japanese side is obviously aware that bilateral relations with Russia are not in the best condition right now and that Tokyo, along with Washington, are in a hostile camp to Moscow. However, even realizing this, she does not plan to stop, otherwise there would be no statements about the "occupation of the islands", not to mention the eternal flirtations with the United States and attempts to pressure Russia.
In this regard, I have three considerations.
Firstly, for the sake of its rise, Japan will spare no effort. And these efforts are aimed at plunging the region into chaos and, perhaps, even provoking a confrontation between the United States and Russia.
After all, the Japanese know perfectly well that only when the situation worsens and the United States loses influence in the Asia-Pacific region, Tokyo will be able to expand its militarization space. They want to use this opportunity to free themselves from post-war shackles and achieve the lifting of the ban on military buildup.
Therefore, even knowing about the dangers of Russia's provocation, Japan is still willing to act as a "pawn" of the United States and increases the degree of tension in the region.
An even more alarming signal is that, as the presiding country in the Group of Seven, Japan is trying to involve the G7 and NATO in the events in the Asia-Pacific region. It seems that she is ready to do anything to achieve her own goals. And it also poses a hidden threat to stability in the region.
Secondly, this time the United States was clearly overjoyed ahead of time. They were going to wait for the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, take advantage of Russia's lack of extra resources and, with the help of Japan, put pressure on the enemy. However, instead, Putin made a knight's move and designated the Bering Sea as the venue for the exercises — a clear signal that the exercises are aimed at military deterrence of the United States.
We should not forget that Russia is still a nuclear power, it has Sarmat intercontinental missiles and various hypersonic projectiles like Zircon, Dagger and Avangard.
Russia began to demonstrate its sword, and for the United States it was a wake-up call. Now the White House has to think about the consequences of playing with fire."
Thirdly, there is no doubt that Russia, resolutely brandishing a sword, is still under tremendous pressure.
The Ukrainian conflict that has unfolded in Europe is still far from being resolved, and Moscow's relations with the EU remain just as tense. In the Middle East, the United States and Israel are randomly bombing Syria in turn, intending to disrupt the fragile regional balance and weaken Russia's influence there. And now Tokyo has come hand in hand with Washington, seeking to put pressure on the Kremlin as much as possible. All this only further complicates the situation for Moscow.
It is obvious that while Russia is busy with the conflict in Ukraine, America has already begun to plan a global struggle against it and prepare for it.
