Tensions Rise as Four Russian Missile Ships Sail Within 40 km of Japan
Tensions between Russia and Japan are rising after four Russian missile-equipped vessels were tracked operating approximately 40 kilometers from Japan’s northern coast, according to Japan’s Joint Staff.
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft monitored four Russian Molniya-class missile boats as they sailed near Cape Soya, at the northern tip of Hokkaido. The vessels reportedly passed through the Soya Strait without entering Japanese territorial waters.
Japan had first detected the four vessels five days earlier northwest of Rebun Island. Each ship is reportedly armed with four supersonic P-270 Moskit anti-ship missiles, giving the group significant anti-surface warfare capabilities.
The development comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, one of the Kuril Islands claimed by Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the visit as “absolutely unacceptable,” while Tokyo summoned Russia’s ambassador to lodge a formal protest.
The territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, seized by the Soviet Union in 1945, remains unresolved and has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a formal post-World War II peace treaty.
Moscow has also protested Japan’s statements, further escalating tensions between the two countries.