Russia and Japan agree on Russian naval ships’ visit to Hokkaido
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera agreed on a visit of Russia’s Pacific Fleet to the Port of Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido, Onodera said upon completion of negotiations with Shoygu in Moscow.
He said that Russian naval ships will enter the Japanese port in October “as part of defense cooperation events”. He noted that the cooperation between Russia and Japan in the field of security will strengthen trust and will “deepen mutual understanding” between the two countries.
As reported by Onodera, the two ministers also agreed to plan a visit of Katsutoshi Kawano, head of the Joint Staff of the Japanese Defense Forces, to Russia. He said that the visit may take place in the second half of 2018. “We believe that such frank interactions between chiefs of military departments will strengthen trust and will deepen mutual understanding between our countries,” said the Japanese Defense Minister. In addition, Japan asked Russia to “take measures” to reduce military activity the four islands of the Kuril chain, Onodera reported.
According to the website of the Russian Defense Ministry, Shoygu, in his turn, said that during his dialogue with his Japanese counterpart, he was willing to exchange views on “urgent security issues” and discuss global and regional matters including “the military and political component”. “It is important to make a joint decision concerning the contribution that the defense departments can make to the relations between the two countries,” said Russian Defense Minister.
Shoygu said that Onodera had last visited Moscow 12 years ago. The Russian Defense Minister said that he hopes for a fruitful dialogue. As noted by Shoygu, during their negotiations, the two defense ministers agreed on strengthening the interaction between the general staffs of both countries and cooperation in the naval field.