As the U.S. grapples with a Senate Intelligence Committee report detailing Russia’s influence on social media, Moscow is playing games with more than memes in Japan. On islands that have been disputed territory since World War II, Russia said Monday that it had already built barracks and would build more military facilities even while talks with Japan are ongoing.
The islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and to Russia as the Southern Kurils, are part of a key territorial dispute that has meant that even decades after the war, Japan and Russia have not yet singed a peace treaty.
Russia’s recent military developments have already sparked diplomatic protest from Japan, although Moscow shows no sings of changing course, indicating that troops and their families could move into the facilities as soon as Dec. 25.
The moves off the Japanese coast, of course, are only the latest effort from Russian President Vladimir Putin to push the envelope when it comes to quietly seizing territory.
In Georgia, the Russian military has been quietly moving border barriers into Georgian territory during the night, claiming entire villages and stretches of land as Russian. Those actions are part of a broader regional push to gain influence most dramatically illustrated by the seizure of Crimea and the ongoing Russian-backed war in Ukraine.
The territorial snatch and grab tactics against Japan, a much more powerful adversary than Russia’s more recent prey, demonstrates emboldened aggression from Moscow. The military buildup on the islands further erodes the prospect of an agreement between the two countries, paving the way for a continued dispute.
For its part, Japan has acknowledged the threat from Russia, as well as China and North Korea, by bolstering its defense systems with U.S. military technology — including plans to purchase about $10 billion worth of F-35 fighter jets.
As the United States continues to talk about combating Russia’s election interference and engages in domestic political wrangling over the response, Washington would do well to remember that Russia is a very real threat to the U.S. and its allies, not just a shadowy organization stirring up hate and distrust on the Internet.
