Japan angered by towing of Soviet sub. into its waters

Press, 25 August 1980, Page 7

Japan angered by towing of Soviet sub. into its waters

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo A belated assurance by jthe Soviet Union that the crippled Soviet nuclear-pow-ered submarine is not carrying nuclear weapons muted Japanese anger at the unauthorized passage of the submarine through Japanese waters yesterday. A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “Moscow must have paid due consideration to Japanese national sentiment in confirming the vessel is not carrying nuclear weapons. “Otherwise, Japanese, who observe the principle of not possessing, producing, or bringing into Japan nuclear weapons, would have been outraged.” Japan has applied this principle to the calls of American nuclear submarines at Japanese ports. He also said the passage of Japanese territorial waters by the submarine, which was unauthorised at the time, was considered

“innocent passage” under international law only after the belated Soviet reply. Japan on Saturday night protested to the Soviet Union, calling “unfriendly and regrettable” the unauthorised passage of Japanese territorial waters by the 5500-tonne Echo 1 nuclearpower submarine under tow. Fire broke out aboard the! vessel last Thursday at a point 60 nautical miles east of the Japanese southern island of Okinawa, killing nine and injuring three of its estimated 92 crewmen.

The protest was made after Boris Zinoviev, charge d’affaires at the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo, reported that Soviet experts had concluded there was no danger of radioactive leakage from the submarine and the vessel was not carrying nuclear weapons. Japan had said it would not allow the submarine through without such an assurance.

The Soviet report was

made one hour after the submarine had cleared Japanese territorial waters. A Japanese air and sea sweep has so far shown no radioactive leak.

The submarine, towed by the 1630 tonne Gorin-class tug, was moving north at a point about 85 nautical miles north-west of Amami Oshima towards Vladivostok, headquarters of the Soviet Pacific fleet, through the Tsushima Strait between Japan and South Korea, the Japanese Maritime Safety Agency said yesterday morning. It was being escorted by the 7650 tonne Soviet submarine depot ship Borodino and a 3300 tonne Soviet Kri-vak-class cruiser. A Soviet tanker left the convoy earlier.

Two Japanese patrol boats and a Japanese naval vessel ere trailing about 1.5 nautical miles behind, the Maritime Safety Agency said.