KURİL ADALARI SORUNU: BÖLGESEL VE KÜRESEL JEOPOLİTİK AÇIDAN ÖNEMİ

Abstract

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.