Spaso House versus “Missouri”

The American Embassy in Moscow has given their evaluation of the Japan territorial claims on the Kuril Islands.

It was possibly a coincidence, but the Spaso House* comments almost with the flight of the Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, over the Kuril Islands. But, for security reasons, he kept a safe distance from Russian land. This is a case that can be described by a Russian saying: “the eye sees but the tooth does not have.”

According to Interfax, in reply to the petition to explain Washington’s official position on the territorial issue between Russia and Japan, officials from the American Embassy in Moscow said that the White House recognizes Japanese sovereignty over the Kuril Islands. But, at the same time, they support the efforts of Moscow and Tokyo to sign a peace treaty.

Recently, American diplomats are less inclined to mention the Kuril’s sovereignty publicly but are more eager to emphasize the need of a peaceful dialog between Russia and Japan. The “Spaso House,” in this regard, passed on to Rossiiskaya Gazeta a verbatim report of the speech on the Kuril Islands issue by Mark Toner, the deputy head of the Press Relations Office of the U.S. State Department. To persistent questions of journalists to assess the escalation of the situation regarding the Islands, he literally said the following: “Our position on the Northern Territories is clear. I can get it for you. But we just — we would call for dialogue, because obviously, we’re — we want to see regional stability.”

The Spaso House, as it was explained to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, only relayed to Interfax the statements on the Kuril Islands made by Philip Crowley, the official representative of the U.S. State Department. He advocated the support of the Japanese sovereignty over the islands a year ago. But, as there were no new recommendations to the U.S. Embassy on how to respond to the Russian-Japanese territorial issue since then, they voiced a position they possessed last year once again.

It is unlikely that the White House seriously expects further dialog between Tokyo and Moscow about the Kuril Islands in the foreseeable future. Alexander Lukashevich, the official representative for the MID (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation), said that negotiations over the territorial dispute with Japan are hardly possible, as “positions of the parties differ radically.” In a situation where Tokyo exploits the Kuril issue in order to solve in-country political problems, holding a discussion becomes pointless. Statements by U.S. officials are heating up the dispute, making utopian all the talks of a peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow. Possibly, American diplomacy is all about a secret purpose. While talking in public about regional stability they, thereby, intentionally encourage Japanese radicalism in relation to the islands.

The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945. Later, despite the absence of a peace treaty with the USSR, Japan joined the U.N., which, at the time, automatically meant the absence of territorial disputes among the member-states. The San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan signed in 1951 officially recognized the right of the Soviet Union to the Kuril Islands. It seems that these facts had to put a full legal stop to Japanese claims. Not so fast. Today, Tokyo, without any shame, announces their disagreement with the outcome of World War II. And, apart from Russia, Korea, China and Taiwan are among the countries that also have territorial disputes with Japan.

Statements made by Washington regarding the support of Japan’s claims to the Kuril Islands means a tacit consent of the American administration to review the outcome of World War II, at least in the Asian region. The White House didn’t state anything like that officially — the Spaso House asked Rossiyskaya Gazeta to pay a special attention to this fact. However, the encouragement of Japanese territorial claims is difficult to perceive in another way. In turn, Tokyo’s neighbors understand that if Japanese claims to the Kuril Islands are even partially accepted, it will create a precedent and provoke new territorial conflicts all over the region. That is why many Asian states were positive about Russia’s offer to take part in development of the islands despite objections from Tokyo.

The number of countries willing to take part in geo-political games following the U.S.’ rules around the Kuril Islands is declining. As usual, Georgia stood out. Following Mikhail Saakashvili’s instructions, Georgian deputies are going to adopt a resolution on the occupation of the Kuril Islands. They expect that the Japanese Parliament, in response to their resolution, will adopt a similar one on Abkhazia and South Ossetia. However, in order to return Washington’s favor, political trading of the current Georgian regime is no longer a surprise to anyone.

*Editor’s Note: The Spaso House is the official residence of U.S. ambassadors in Moscow.