ABSTRACT
Concerning the Soviet buildup on the northern islands in the summer of 1978, two possible explanations of Soviet motives may be offered. First, it was a Soviet maneuver to force Japan to reconsider closer ties with China, and to go slow in negotiating the peace treaty. A second explanation is that reinforcement of the northern territories was part of a general strengthening of Soviet Far East forces, and Etorofu was designated to play a greater role in the fortification of the Sea of Okhotsk. The timing of Soviet moves in strengthening the northern territories was linked to Japan’s urgency in negotiating the treaty with China. The Sino-Soviet border and the Korean peninsula continued to be areas of high tension, and a “confrontation atmosphere” due to the existing opposing military structures. In any conflict involving the People’s Republic of China, the US and the USSR, Japan would be an affected party.
