MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. The possible deployment of US intermediate-and shorter-range missiles (INF) in Japan would pose a serious threat to Russia, so Moscow will take this into account in its military planning, Nikolay Nozdryov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Third Asian Department, said in an interview with RTVI.
"It is absolutely clear: if [Washington] decides to deploy intermediate and shorter-range missiles in Japan, this will pose a serious threat to neighboring states. This, of course, will need to be taken into account, including in Russia’s defense strategy of maintaining the security of far eastern borders," Nozdryov stressed.
He is certain that Tokyo and Washington are discussing the possibility of INF missiles deployment on Japanese territory.
"Of course, I also believe that there is no smoke without fire: if such reports appear, and they have appeared more than once, including with reference to anonymous officials in the governments of certain states, respectively, this discussion is certainly underway," Nozdryov said. He believes that this reflects Japan's wish to "cater to the interests" of the United States in the Asia-Pacific Region, in this case military ones, as precisely and clearly as possible, while Washington will be pursuing its strategic aims.
Earlier, Japan's daily newspaper Sankei reported that Washington had already started probing into Tokyo's attitude to the deployment of ground-based medium-range missiles - LRHW or Tomahawk - 3-4 years ago. The island of Kyushu, facing the East China Sea, was tentatively referred to as a likely deployment site. Both permanent deployment and temporary deployment on a rotational basis are being considered. According to the Japanese media, the US military may receive hypersonic LRHWs with a range of more than 2,700 kilometers as early as 2023. The US Marine Corps will reportedly receive ground-based Tomahawk missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers by 2026.