ID :
131511
Tue, 07/06/2010 - 08:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/131511
The shortlink copeid
Britain supported Soviet rule ofs island disputed by Japan+
LONDON, July 5 Kyodo - The British government sided with the Soviet Union at the end of 1979 over its effective control of four islands off Hokkaido while showing sympathy for Japan, according to a document obtained by Kyodo News on Monday.
''While we might at times sympathize with the Japanese, we have been inclined
to the view that Soviet control over all these territories was recognized by
international agreements to which we were party,'' the document said.
The confidential document, obtained from London's National Archives after a
freedom of information request, was prepared by the Far Eastern Department of
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the government of Margaret
Thatcher, who became prime minister in May 1979.
The document carries the stamp of the Japanese section of the department dated
Jan. 3, 1980.
It had been known that Britain did not support Japan in the 1950s when Tokyo
insisted that all four islands be returned. While Britain later adopted a
policy of not clarifying its view on the issue until 1988, when the government
declared its support for Japan, it had not be been known that Britain had
supported Soviet control of the islands.
Britain's stance was apparently aimed at ensuring stability in East Asia as
well as Europe, experts said.
The Soviet Union occupied the islands, known in Japan as the Northern
Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, at the end of World War II.
Britain, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, was a joint
sponsor of the San Francisco Peace Treaty signed in 1951 that stated Japan
would renounce all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands, known in Japan
as the Chishima Islands.
As a key country deeply involved in the territorial issue, Britain's view may
have encouraged the Soviet Union to take a hard-line stance, experts said.
The Dec. 20, 1979, document, titled ''Northern Territories Issue Between Japan
and USSR,'' stated that in the case of Etorofu and Kunashiri, Soviet control
was more clearly recognized by international agreements.
The ''international agreements'' cited in the 1979 document apparently referred
to the peace treaty and the Yalta agreement of 1945, which stipulated that the
Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan in exchange for a handover of
the Kuril Islands.
But an attached document prepared in 1972 stressed Britain could not endorse
the stance of either Japan or the Soviet Union, saying it was a diplomatic risk
and Britain had little to gain by intervening.
The wisest policy would be to watch the dispute between the two countries, the
1972 document said.
Britain expressed support for Japan in 1988 because Tokyo strongly sought
London's support and Britain was less concerned about possible objections from
the Soviet Union as the end of the Cold War was approaching, the experts said.
==Kyodo
''While we might at times sympathize with the Japanese, we have been inclined
to the view that Soviet control over all these territories was recognized by
international agreements to which we were party,'' the document said.
The confidential document, obtained from London's National Archives after a
freedom of information request, was prepared by the Far Eastern Department of
Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office under the government of Margaret
Thatcher, who became prime minister in May 1979.
The document carries the stamp of the Japanese section of the department dated
Jan. 3, 1980.
It had been known that Britain did not support Japan in the 1950s when Tokyo
insisted that all four islands be returned. While Britain later adopted a
policy of not clarifying its view on the issue until 1988, when the government
declared its support for Japan, it had not be been known that Britain had
supported Soviet control of the islands.
Britain's stance was apparently aimed at ensuring stability in East Asia as
well as Europe, experts said.
The Soviet Union occupied the islands, known in Japan as the Northern
Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, at the end of World War II.
Britain, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, was a joint
sponsor of the San Francisco Peace Treaty signed in 1951 that stated Japan
would renounce all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands, known in Japan
as the Chishima Islands.
As a key country deeply involved in the territorial issue, Britain's view may
have encouraged the Soviet Union to take a hard-line stance, experts said.
The Dec. 20, 1979, document, titled ''Northern Territories Issue Between Japan
and USSR,'' stated that in the case of Etorofu and Kunashiri, Soviet control
was more clearly recognized by international agreements.
The ''international agreements'' cited in the 1979 document apparently referred
to the peace treaty and the Yalta agreement of 1945, which stipulated that the
Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan in exchange for a handover of
the Kuril Islands.
But an attached document prepared in 1972 stressed Britain could not endorse
the stance of either Japan or the Soviet Union, saying it was a diplomatic risk
and Britain had little to gain by intervening.
The wisest policy would be to watch the dispute between the two countries, the
1972 document said.
Britain expressed support for Japan in 1988 because Tokyo strongly sought
London's support and Britain was less concerned about possible objections from
the Soviet Union as the end of the Cold War was approaching, the experts said.
==Kyodo
