TOKYO: Japan’s Defense Ministry is promoting the deployment of Self-Defense Forces missile units in the Nansei chain of islands in the country’s southwest to counter China’s increasing military activities.

Long-range missiles are highly likely to be deployed on those islands in the future as Japan is preparing to acquire counterattack capabilities to strike enemy bases.

The ministry newly established a Ground SDF camp on Ishigaki Island last month where Type-12 surface-to-ship guided and other missile units were deployed.

It has already deployed missile units on the islands of Amami Oshima and Miyako. By the end of fiscal 2023, the ministry will complete the deployment of a missile unit at the GSDF’s Katsuren subcamp on the main island of Okinawa.

Yonaguni, the westernmost Japan island located only some 110 kilometers away from Taiwan, is among candidate sites to host a missile unit.

The ministry is strengthening the defense of the Nansei region because it is the gateway to the Pacific for China. Chinese military ships and aircraft have been spotted frequently in the region.

An aircraft takeoff and landing drill was staged on the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning in waters south of Okinawa after the vessel sailed across the region between late last year and January this year.

In an apparent warning to China, the Japanese government late last year announced a plan to acquire counterattack capabilities. Under the plan, Japan will increase the range of the Type 12 missile to over 1,000 kilometers for deployment starting in fiscal 2026.

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told a news conference Friday that no decision has been made about where to deploy long-range missiles.

But a ministry official said that the Nansei islands close to China are a “good candidate” to host such missiles. A new depot to be set up on the Okinawa main island is expected to store long-range missiles.

Local communities are concerned about the deployment of such missiles, saying that they may be targeted first if a conflict breaks out.

The city assembly on Ishigaki Island last December voted to oppose the deployment of long-range missiles to the island.

JIJI Press