KURIL ISLANDS ISSUE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL GEOPOLITICAL IMPLICATIONS

Yıl 2021, , 1 - 13, 30.06.2021

Muharrem Hilmi Özev , Belgin Kulaklı

https://doi.org/10.31455/asya.875606

Öz

The issue of the Kuriles can be seen as a result of World War II and a reflection of the Cold War era. Although 73 years have passed since the end of World War II, no peace treaty between Japan and USSR/Russian Federation has been signed because both parties claim sovereignty on the Northern Territories/South Kuriles. The islands had been controlled by Japan until the World War II. Since then, they have been under Russian Federation control. The Kuril Islands, being resource-rich and strategically important, have evolved from an ordinary territorial issue between the two countries to an instrument of geopolitical settlement and vantage point for great powers. The islands form the Eastern borders of Russian Federation and provide the access of the Pacific Fleet, the second largest fleet of Russian Federation, to the Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, if the Kuril Islands come under Tokyo's rule, it will allow the United States, Japan's biggest ally, to maintain its military superiority over the Russian Federation. This article examines the issue of the Kuril Islands as a point of great power conflict, on which the Russia’s New Eurasianism and the western containment theories intersects and its potential to affect the regional and global balance of power. The article examines the issue in terms of international law, current geopolitical objectives of the related actors and the roles of the US and the PRC.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kuril Islands, Northern Territories/South Kuriles, Geopolitics, Russian-Japanese Relations

KURİL ADALARI SORUNU: BÖLGESEL VE KÜRESEL JEOPOLİTİK AÇIDAN ÖNEMİ

Öz

Kuril Adaları sorunu 2. Dünya Savaşı'nın bir sonucu ve Soğuk Savaş döneminin bir yansıması olarak görülebilir. 2. Dünya Savaşı’nın ardından 73 yıl geçmesine rağmen Japonya ve Rusya arasında hala bir barış anlaşması imzalanmamıştır. Bunun nedeni ise Rusya’nın Kamchatsk ile Japonya’nın Hokkaido bölgeleri arasında bulunan Kuzeydeki topraklar/Güneydeki Kuriller üzerinde iki tarafın da egemenlik iddiasında bulunmasıdır. Kuril Adaları 2. Dünya Savaşı öncesinde Japonların elindeydi, 2. Dünya Savaşının sonundan itibaren ise Rusya’nın fiili kontrolü altında bulunmaktadırlar. Hem kaynak bakımından zengin hem de stratejik bakımdan önemli konuma sahip olan Kuril Adaları, iki ülke arasında sıradan bir toprak meselesi olmaktan çıkarak büyük güçlerin jeopolitik hesaplaşma ve avantaj sağlama aracına dönüşmüştür. Kuril Adaları Rusya Federasyonu’nun doğu sınırlarını oluşturmakta ve ikinci büyüklükteki filosu olan Pasifik Filosunun Pasifik okyanusuna çıkışını sağlamaktadır. Kuril Adaları Tokyo’nun kontrolü altına girdiği takdirde ise, Japonya'nın en büyük müttefiki olan ABD’nin Rusya’ya karşı askeri üstünlüğünü devam ettirmesini sağlayacaktır. Makalede Kuril Adaları meselesi, büyük güçlerin çatışma alanı olarak yani Rusya Federasyonu’nun Yeni Avrasyacılık çizgisinin ve ABD’nin kuşatma teorisinin kesiştiği nokta olarak ele alınılacaktır. Böylece sorunun tüm mahiyeti yansıtılarak hem bölgesel hem de küresel anlamda güç dengelerini etkileme potansiyeli açıklanmaya çalışılacaktır. Bu doğrultuda Kuril adaları sorununun tarihi, uluslararası hukuk bakımından durumu, bölge ile ilgili güçlerin güncel jeopolitik hedefleri, ABD’nin ve ÇHC’nin rolleri incelenecektir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Kuril Adaları, Kuzey Topraklar/Güney Kuriller, Jeopolitik, Rusya ve Japonya İlişkileri

Kaynakça

• Alekseyev, A. (1991). Kurily: Russko-Yaponskiy Rubezh (Kuriles: Russian-Japanese Border). Yojno-Sakhalinsk: Obkom KP RSFCR.
• Alekseyev D. (2005). Kuril’skaya Problema i Natsionalniye Interesi Rossii. Vesnik Tihookeanskova Gosudastvennova Ekonomiçeskova Universieta. The Journal of Pasific State University of Economics, 0(4), 86-95.
• Amanzholov Z. M. and Akhmetov Y. B. (2013). Japanese-Russian Territorial Disagreement and Their International Legal Substantiations. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research (Special Issue of Politics and Law), 0(13), 16-24.
• Andrews-Speed P.; Liao X. and Dannreuther R. (2002). The Strategic Implications of China's Energy Needs. New York: Oxford University Press for The International Institute for Strategic Studies.
• Bassin M. (2011). Klasik’ ve ‘Yeni’ Avrasyacılık: Geçmişten Gelen Devamlılık (Classical and New Eurasianism: Continuity from the Past). Bilge Strateji, 2(4), 122-129.
• Bazin O. (2017). New Factors in Solving Southern Kuriles in the Period of Perestroika. Bulletin of PNRPU. Culture. History. Philosophy. Law, 0(1), 76-83.
• BBC News. (2016). Soglasitsya li Putin na Vozvrasheniye Kuril’skih Ostrovov (Will Putin Accept Secession Kuriles to Japan?). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/russian/features-38325710. on December 25, 2018.
• Beliakov, D. and Bibushkina N. (2015). Sotsyal’no-Ekonomicheskiye I Geopoliticheskiye Posledtsviya Ustupki Alyaski (Socio-Economic and Geopolitical Consequences of Alaska Concession). Theoretical and Practical Economics, 0(4), 1-10.
• Brzezinski, Z. (2010). Büyük Satranç Tahtası, (The Grand Chessboard). İstanbul: İnkılâp Yayınevi.
• Buckalew, M. С. (2017). “Rossiya I Yaponiya po Povodu Ostrovov Vryad li Budet Vyveden Iz Tupika” (The Dispute Between Russia and Japan Over the Islands is Unlikely to be Brought out of the Impasse), Russia Today. Retrieved from http://inosmi.ru/politic/20170126/238604804.html. on February 22, 2020.
• Call, K. A. (1992). Southern Kuriles or Northern Territories? Resolving the Russo-Japanese Border Dispute. Brigham Young University Law Review, 0(3), 726-758.
• Dmitreshchenko, O. (2013). Attribution of “Major non-NATO Ally” Status as an Instrument of the U.S. Foreign Policy Strategy (the Case of Afghanistan). Moscow University Journal, 25(2), 1-15.
• Dudden, A. (2014). Japan’s Island Problem, Dissent, (Fall). Retrieved from https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/japans-island-problem. on December 25, 2018.
• Dugin, A. (2016). Rus Jeopolitiği (Russian Geopolitics). Istanbul: Küre Yayınları.
• DW. A Solution to the Kuril Islands Dispute? (2016). [map]. 1:500 000. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/a-solution-to-the-kuril-islands-dispute/a-36624291 on February 22, 2020.
• Elleman, F. (2000). The Kurile Stalemate: American, Japanese and Soviet Revisitings of History and Geography. Analyses et Perspectives, 2.
• Elleman, M. N. and Ouimet, M. A. (1999). Historical Reevaluation of America’s Role in the Kuril Islands Dispute. Passific Affairs, 71(4), 489-504.
• Enerji Enstitüsü. (2016). Çin’e En Çok Petrol Satışı Yapan Ülke Rusya Oldu! (Russia Became the Country with the Most Oil Sales to China!). Retrieved from, https://www.enerjigazetesi.ist/cine-en-fazla-petrol-satisi-yapan-ulke-rusya-oldu/. on December 25, 2019.
• Buckley, N. and Akita, H. (2016). Tokyo Moves to Normalise Relations With Moscow. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/0befffe0-fb50-11e5-8f41-df5bda8beb40. on June, 22, 1999.
• Gazeta.ru (2018). Kosmos, Koreya i Kurily: o chom Putin Dagovorilsya s Abe (Space, Korea and Kuriles: What Will Putin and Abe Talk About?). Retrieved from https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2018/05/26_a_11765095.shtml. on May 12, 2019.
• Ervin, G. (2005). Rusko-Yaponskıy Dagovor o Mire i Druzhbe, Zaklyuchonnıy v Simode 7 Fevralya (Russian-Japanese Treaty on Peace and Friendship, Concluded in Shimoda, 1842-1925). Retrevied from http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/China/XIX/1840-1860/Sb_dog_Dal_vost/1-20/6.htm on June 24, 2020.
• Hokkaido Prefectural Government (2018). History of the Northern Territories. Retrieved from http://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/sm/hrt/hp-en/hist-en.htm on September 18, 2018.
• Voytenko, I. (2012). Kakova Pozitsıya KNR po Yuzhnım Kurilam (What is the Position of the PRC About the South Kuriles). Stoletiye. Retrived from http://www.stoletie.ru/fakty_i_kommentarii/pochemu_kitaj_podderzhivajet_poziciju_rossii_po_juzhnym_kurilam_787.htm on 13 August, 2018.
• Vügar, İ. (2008). Avrasyacılık: Rusya’nın Kimlik Arayışı (Eurasianism: Russia's Quest For Identity). İstanbul: Küre Yayınları.
• İşyar, Ö. (2018). Avrasya ve Avrasyacılık, (Eurasia and Eurasianism). Bursa: Dora Yayınları.
• Jukov, M. (2016). Prirodnıye Resursy Kurilskih Ostrovov (Natural Resources of Kuril Islands). The Rare Earth Magazine. Retrieved from http://rareearth.ru/ru/pub/20161206/02745.html on August 12, 2018.
• Kapur, K. D. (2012). Russian-Japan Relations: Politico-Strategic Importance of the Disputed Southern Kuril Islands/Northern Territories. India Quarterly, 68(4), 385–405.
• Komsomolskaya Pravda Newspaper (2015). Kak Spetsluxhbi Spasli Kurily Dlya Rossii. Retrieved from https://www.kp.ru/daily/26473.7/3342621/ on October 22, 1018.
• Koşkin, A. (2010). Rossiya i Yaponiya: Uzlı Protivorechiy (Russia and Japan: Knot of Inconsistencies). Moscow: Vece.
• Kublik A. Kurily – Ostrov Sokrıvishch. (Kuriles-Treasure Islands). INOSIMA. RU. (May 2011). Retrieved from https://inosmi.ru/poland/20110524/169791840.html on March 18, 2019.
• Kurtov, A. (2009). Istoriko-pravovıye osnovaniya prinadlezhnosti Kurilskih ostrovov Rossiyskoy Federatcyy (History and Legal Basis of the Kuril Islands as belonging to the Russian Federation). Prablemy Nattsyonal’noy Strategii (National Strategy Issues), 0(1), 166-185.
• Lushnikov, O. (2006). Yevraziyskaya Perspektiva: Sovremennyye Proekty Strategiçeskogo Razvitiya Rossii. Vesnik Çel'abinskogo Gasudarstvennava Universiteta (Çelyabinsk State University Journal), 0(3), 6-23.
• MFA of Japan. (?) Northern Territories Issue. Retrieved from http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/overview.html on July 15, 2018.
• Wong, E. (2011). China: Deal With Russia Denied. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/world/asia/18briefs-china.html on April 13, 2020.
• NTV (2010). 25, Dmitriy Medvedev pribyl na Kunashyr (Dmitry Medvedev Visits Kunashir). Retrieved from http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/209370/ on December 2018.
• Pardo, E. (2012). Northern Territories and Japan-Russia Relations: Will the Knot Ever Untie? UNISCI Discussion Papers, November 28.
• Pastarkova, S. (2017). Critical Assessment of the Arctic´s Geostrategic Importance During World War I and World War II, PhD thesis, Çekya: Karlova University.
• Pravda. (2017). Valeriy Kistanov: Otdadim Kurily Yaponii – ih Srazu Zahvatyat SSHA (Valeriy Kistanov: If you Give the Kuriles to Japan, the US Will Take Them Over Immediately). Retrieved from https://www.pravda.ru/news/world/14-02-2017/1324622-kurily-0/ on March 16, 2019.
• Rees, D. (1985). Soviet Seizure of the Kurile. New York: Praeger Press.
• Regnum Information Agency (2004). Moskva Gotova Otdat’ Yaponii Ostrova Hobimai i Şikotan. Retrieved from https://regnum.ru/news/polit/358959.html on November 16, 2018.
• RIA News, (2012). Prablema Kurilskih Ostravov v Otnosheniyah Rossii I Yaponii (Kurile Isuue in Japanese-Russian Relations). Retrieved from https://ria.ru/spravka/20120424/632862793.html. on November 16, 2018.
• Russia Today (2013). Rossiyskoye Predlojeniye 1992 Goda o Vozvrate Ostrovov Bylo Reshytel’no Oprovergnuto. Retrieved from, http://inosmi.ru/world/20130111/204502407.html. on 24, October 1018.
• Sahkalin Oblasti Gubernator. (2018). Official Website, Prirodnyye Resursy (Natural Resources). Retrieved from https://sakhalin.gov.ru/index.php?id=19. on July 23, 2018.
• Stephan, J. S. (1974). The Kuril Islands: Russo-Japanese Frontier in the Pacific. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• TASS. (2017). Kurily v Ramkah Bezvizovyh Obmenov v 2017 Gadu Pasetil Boleye 1 tys. Grazhdan Yaponii (Under the Visa-free Regime, the Kuriles Have Been Visited by A Thousand Japanese Nationals in 2017). Retrieved from http://tass.ru/obschestvo/4722640. on November 16, 2018.
• Trenin, D. and Weber, Y. (2012). Russia’s Pacific Future. Moscow: The Carnegie Papers.
• Vesti. (2018). Putin i Abe Proveli Kanstruktivnyye Peregovory (Putin and Abe are in Constructive Talks). May 26. Retrieved from https://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=3021671. on April 26, 2019.
• Williams, B. (2006). Federal-Regional Relations in Russia and the Northern Territories Dispute: the Rise and Demise of the Sakhalin Faktor. The Pacific Review, 9(3), 263-285.
• Yale Law School: Lillia Goldman Law Library. A Decade of American Foreign Policy 1941-1949 Potsdam Conference. Retrieved from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade17.asp. on June 27, 2019.
• Yale Law School: Lillia Goldman Law Library, The Yalta Conference. Retrieved from http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/yalta.asp. on June 27, 2019.
• Yılmaz, S. (2015). Yeni Avrasyacılık ve Rusya, (New Eurasianism and Russia). Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Researches, 0(34), 109-118.
• Yılmaz, S. (2020). Putin Dönemi Rusya Dış Politikası ve Güvenlik Doktrinleri (Putin Era Russian Foreign Policy and Security Doctrines). Istanbul: Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık.