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Russia to Hold Shooting Drill near Disputed Pacific Islands

Russia to Hold Shooting Drill near Disputed Pacific Islands

   Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--Russia has said that it will conduct a shooting drill in waters including Japanese territorial waters around the Northern Territories, which are claimed by Tokyo but effectively controlled by Moscow, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday.
   Russian authorities issued a navigation warning over the planned exercise near the four northwestern Pacific islands off Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, according to Hayashi.
   Tokyo has lodged a protest through diplomatic channels, saying that Russia's military buildup on the four islands is against Japan's position and cannot be accepted.
   The chief cabinet secretary added that Russian authorities have filed a protest with Tokyo over the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force's surface-to-ship missile launch drill planned for around June.
   Regarding a possible link between the Russian drill and the GSDF exercise, Hayashi said he was not in a position to comment on Moscow's intentions.

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