Claims and counterclaimsThe Kuriles are an archipelago of some 56 islands spanning about 1,800 km from Japan’s Hokkaido to Russia’s Kamchatka. These islands were occupied by the Soviet Union in August 1945, after which the entire Japanese population, numbering less than 20,000, was evicted. The Russians have deployed missile systems, plan a submarine project there, and intend to preclude any American military use of the islands. Japan has no territorial or demographic ambitions in Russia other than the Kuriles, and has the capacity to transform the vast contiguous areas of Russia. Kashmir is essentially a territorial dispute of almost equal vintage as the Kuriles.

Source: The Hindu January 06, 2019 18:45 UTC