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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia to reinforce, rearm division on Kurile Islands |
| 2011-02-27 |
| (Itar-Tass) -- Russia will restructure and rearm its 18th Machinegun and Artillery Division on the Kurile Islands, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said. The minister is on a two-day trip to Kamchatka and Vladivostok. "In part, the purpose of this trip was to see how the machinegun and artillery division will be integrated into the forces deployed in Vladivostok, Sakhalin and Kamchatka," Serdyukov said on Saturday, February 26. "The grouping will change its structure: it may actually be slightly reduced by a small number of people," he said. But "it will be reinforced with the newest communication and electronic warfare systems and radars," he added. "It will most likely be deployed in two compounds on two islands -- Kunashir and Irutup," Serdyukov said. "That will be quite enough," he added. The 18th Machinegun and Artillery Division is the only such permanent readiness unit in the Russian Armed Forces. Its regiments are stationed on Kunashir and Iturup and armed with tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, artillery systems, air defence and anti-tank systems, and machineguns. Russia may build up its military presence on the Kurile Islands if faced with a security threat, State Duma Defence Committee Chairman Viktor Zavarzin said earlier. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 I'm sure many in Russia would love to get revenge for their PORT ARTHUR + TSUSHIMA DEFEATS at the hands of Japan [1905 Russo-Japanese War], BUT IMO THE KURILES DISPUTE IS ABOUT CONTAINING/ISOLATING RISING CHINA + [post-US?]FUTURE CHIN POWER. * PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > [South Korea] SIX-PARTY TALKS OUT OF THE QUESTION UNTIL NORTH KOREA'S URANIUM ISSUE ADDRESSED. Seoul demands clarity + specificities as per the intent of DPRK's Uranium, Plutonium NucProgs. HMMMM, HMMMM, wehell, IIUC KIMMIE = DPRK DOESN'T WANT TO OPENLY SAY OR DESCRIBE SUCH IN FRONT OF CHINA. Again, SOUTH KOREA > has a vested interest in preventing any Chin takeover of NORTH KOREA. One for make good simil arguments also for the interests of JAPAN, TAIWAN, RUSSIA, + PHIL. * TOPIX > NO MUCLEAR LIMIT [limits]:CHINA. ARTIC = Beijing Officials denote that Expansion of China's Military Power is both INEVITABLE + NATURAL, + that China will NOT accept any FOREIGN/EXTERNALLY-IMPOSED LIMITS OR CONSTRAINTS TO ITS CAPABILITIES. Lest we fergit, 2011-2020/2025 > US POWER + INFLUENCE AROUND THE WORLD WILL BE SERIOUSLY CHALLENGED BY VARIOUS CAMPS. This Decade thru 2025 may MAKE-OR-BREAK OWG-NWO + "GLOBALISM". 9-11 + GWOT = Among other, is WAR FOR PRO-US-VS-ANTI-US OWG-NWO [Global Domination]. But I digress ... |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-02-28 00:17 |
| #4 The Russians are rather famous for not giving a crap what their soldiers think. |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-02-27 18:21 |
| #3 All the Japanese have to do is wait the Russians out. The next 20 years are going to get COLD, and the Russian weapons will be hard to operate. Most of the Russian soldiers sent to the Kuriles and other Far Eastern bastions come from the areas south of Moscow, and don't fare well in the cold. Expect the areas around the Kuriles to get down into the -50F - -60F range. The Russians have taken possession of something they're not up to holding, and things will not turn out well. The Russians sent there to live hate the place. I'm sure the troops feel likewise. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2011-02-27 15:55 |
| #2 Out of curiosity.. have Kimmie or the ChiComs claimed the Kuriles too? |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2011-02-27 14:59 |
| #1 Is Russia afraid that Japan will get feisty? The Yalta Agreement explicitly handed over control of the Kurile Islands to the USSR. Of course Japan (obviously) was not a party to the Yalta Agreement. And Russia had never previously owned the Kurile Islands. And Russia, by entering the war against Japan, violated the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact. But C'est la guerre; War was a remedy that Japan chose. |
| Posted by: Mike Ramsey 2011-02-27 08:35 |