The transfer of the Iturup and Shikotan islands to the Japanese will mean the actual surrender of all the Kuril Islands.
Russian writer and military expert Alexander Shirokorad stated this on the YouTube channel “Stalingrad,” PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“There is a Japanese minimum program, and there is a maximum program. The minimum program is two large islands - Iturup and Shikotan - plus several small ones around. And the maximum program is all the Kuril Islands. The maximum program is supported by several Japanese political parties and many Japanese people. The minimum program is expressed by Japanese official circles and the government. But there is a certain catch here.
The fact is that at the moment only three islands are inhabited in the Kuril Islands: one island - Paramushir near Kamchatka, and two islands off the coast of Japan - Iturup and Shikotan.
All other islands, over twenty, are currently uninhabited. Of these, 4-5 were inhabited during Soviet times, there were airfields, military bases, border outposts... In 1991-1993, all border outposts, except for the southernmost islands, were abandoned. Airfields were abandoned, ship bases were abandoned, the population left. It was a “great exodus,” as they say,” Shirokorad noted.
In his opinion, giving the two southern islands to the Japanese means giving them all the wealth of the Kuril Islands.
“If the Japanese take, as they say, “just” two southern islands, then a chain of more than 20 deserted islands, which are rich in huge reserves of minerals, manganese, oil, and so on. They have been found, but are not being developed; everything will be developed by the Japanese. It will happen like with Alaska, when fabulous riches were given away,” the expert added.