Japan Deploys Missile Units To Okinawa's Ishigaki Island To Anticipate Chinese Threats

Japanese military illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/MIKI Yoshihito)

JAKARTA - Japan on Thursday deployed Ground Self Defense Force (GSDF) units, including missile squads, to a remote southern island near the Senkaku Islands that are disputed with Taiwan, allegedly in response to increased Chinese military activity in nearby waters.

About 570 GSDF members will be stationed in the newly established garrison on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, with some assigned to surface-to-ship and surface-to-air missile units, according to the Ministry of Defense, as reported by Kyodo News on March 16.

The island lies less than 200 kilometers south of the Senkaku Island chain in the East China Sea, which is controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. Chinese coast guard vessels have repeatedly entered Japanese waters around the uninhabited islands.

The island is also located about 300 km east of Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island that is viewed by the Chinese Government as a breakaway province to be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Japan is known to have enhanced its deterrence and response capabilities against China by establishing a defensive foothold in the Nanseis Islands, a chain that runs southwest from Kyushu toward Taiwan.

The GSDF established a garrison on Yonaguni Island in Okinawa in 2016, and later on Miyako Island and Amami Island, Kagoshima Prefecture in 2019 with missile units.

Japan pledged to strengthen its defense capabilities and improve infrastructure in the southwestern region, when the government updated its defense policies, including the long-term National Security Strategy guidelines, in December last year.

However, the plan to deploy the GSDF on Ishigaki Island has faced opposition from some local residents since it emerged around 2014. However, the mayor said in 2016, that Ishigaki would accept it.

A demonstration was held near the front gate of the garrison on Thursday, with about 30 people including local residents calling for the removal of the "missile base" from Ishigaki Island.

"Here in Ishigaki, we have never seen an SDF member in camouflage uniform," said Sachiko Fujii, 75, a member of a local community group who took part in the demonstration.

"We will never give up until the base is removed," he continued.

It is known, in the final phase of World War II in 1945, Okinawa became the site of the bloodiest ground battle on Japanese soil, with more than 200,000 civilians and soldiers from the Japanese and United States militaries killed.