Awwal 26, 1432, March 1, 2011, SPA -- Russia will arm a group of disputed islands at the centre of a growing row with Japan with anti-ship missiles and attack helicopters, the Interfax news agency cited the military General Staff as saying on Tuesday. Russia has emphasised its claim to the four islands off Japan, which Soviet troops occupied during World War Two. President Dmitry Medvedev has vowed to improve defences there. Russian P-800 rockets, known as Yakhonts, will be deployed on the islands, which Moscow calls the Southern Kurils and Tokyo call the Northern Territories in Japanese, Interfax quoted an unnamed representative of the General Staff as saying. The rockets are capable of hitting ships 300 kilometers away, allowing Russia to target ships well into Japanese waters. Russia also plans to send Mi-28N battle helicopters to the islands, Interfax cited the representative as saying. Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov quoted by Reuters as saying previously that troops will be based on two of the islands, which Russia calls Kunashir and Iturup. There is only an artillery division on Kunashir and troop numbers are unclear.
