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Russian submarines and other warships are conducting a major military exercise in the Pacific.
– Ukraine is the highest priority, but the fleet can of course be used in all directions, says Putin.
Four strategically placed islands are behind the warning, experts suspect.
During a meeting in the Kremlin with Putin on Monday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu gave an account of the Russian Pacific Fleet’s ongoing exercise.
25,000 men, 89 aircraft and helicopters and 167 warships participate in the giant exercise. Among these twelve submarines.
According to the Minister of Defence, they have, among other things, practiced “the combat capability of strategic submarines and their readiness to use the weapons”, writes Newsweek.
Knock out enemy submarines
During Tuesday, they will practice attacks against an enemy in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. One must, among other things, look for and knock out “enemy submarines”.
Putin emphasized during the meeting with Shoigu that the military’s main priority is the war in Ukraine – to “defend the people of Donbass and the other new regions”.
– But the task of developing the fleet, including in the Pacific, is still relevant, Putin said.
In the meeting, the president said that the Pacific fleet “of course can be used in all directions”, writes Newsweek.
Warns Japan
Kremlin spokesman Dimitrij Peskov stated after the meeting that Putin’s words should be seen as a comment on a “turbulent outside world”.
– It is filled with regional conflicts. We all know the geography of these conflicts, Peskov said.
British military analyst Philip Ingram, a former intelligence officer, tells Newsweek that there could be several reasons why Russia is conducting this exercise right now amid the raging war in Ukraine.
One of the reasons is to show the outside world that Russia can function normally militarily despite having its “special operation” in Ukraine to focus on.
They also want to show that they can be counted on in the Pacific region, strengthen ties with China and “send a warning to Japan about possible thoughts of retaking the Kurils when Russia is distracted in Ukraine”, says Ingram.
Battle for four islands
Moscow and Tokyo have been in conflict over the Kuril Islands since the Soviet Union captured them at the end of World War II. The number of islands is between 50 and 60, many smaller islands and skerries, and are all under Russian jurisdiction.
Japan claims the four southernmost islands as its territory.
Discussions about the Kurils were interrupted by Russia early in the war after Japan imposed sanctions on the country.
Andrew Latham, professor of international relations, believes that Putin wants to deter Japan and the United States from “testing” Russia in Asia or in other places beyond Ukraine.
But:
– I don’t think that Japan is thinking about “liberating” the Kuriles or that the US is looking for opportunities to test Russia in the Pacific. So they probably want to signal more to the home crowd than to the away crowd, he says to Newsweek.