China has Exploded Japan’s Missile Deployment near Taiwan.

China has exploded, what it has termed as ‘extremely dangerous’, Japan’s missile deployment on an island only 110 kilometres (68 miles) away from Taiwan, stating it stokes regional tensions and military confrontation amid deteriorating ties between the two Asian powers.

But Shinjiro Koizumi, Tokyo’s defence minister, believed the deployment on Yonaguni Island would “reduce the likelihood of any armed attack on Japan itself”, a Japanese defence ministry statement reiterated yesterday. During an inspection visit on Yonaguni on Saturday, Koizumi said preparation for a medium-range, surface-to-air missile deployment was “progressing steadily”, according to the read-out.

Yonaguni forms part of an archipelago that is only 110 kilometres away from Taiwan, which is Japan’s closest point to Taiwan. Located 2,000 kilometres from Tokyo, Yonaguni is home to about 1,700 local residents and hosts a Self-Defence Forces base.

Japan in recent years has increased its military deployment on Yonaguni, citing concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the region.

On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tokyo’s move “deliberately creates regional tensions and stokes military confrontation. Combined with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan, this development is extremely dangerous and should raise serious alarm among neighbouring countries and the international community”, added Mao, referring to the Japanese leader.

Koizumi’s comment relating to Yonaguni came amid plunging relations with China after Takaichi earlier this month said a military attack by China against Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, which could allow Tokyo to engage in military action alongside Washington. The Japanese prime minister has refused to retract her statement, despite China’s repeated protests and warnings.

In response, China has suspended the resumption of Japanese seafood imports, cut intergovernmental exchange, advised its citizens not to travel and study in Japan and vowed to hit back firmly if Tokyo got involved militarily in a Taiwan contingency. China sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. But Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-ruled island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

Mao said “Japan’s right-wing forces” were “aggressively trying to break free” from the constraints of the country’s pacifist constitution, “pushing ever further down a path of militarism and dragging both Japan and the region towards disaster. China will never allow Japanese militarism to rise from the ashes, and China has both the determination and the capability to defend its national territorial sovereignty”, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman added.

Meanwhile, China has ramped up military activities, including a drill by a PLA Navy unit, part of the Eastern Theatre Command, on Saturday and has continued an exercise in the Yellow Sea that started in mid-November and is expected to run to December 07th.

As for Japan’s missile deployment on Yonaguni, Koizumi said it would be “inaccurate” to view the move as contributing to regional tensions, according to the read-out.

Koizumi refused to answer questions about Yonaguni’s role in Japan’s defence strategy in the event of a Taiwan contingency, calling the inquiry “premised on a hypothetical scenario”, the read-out said.

According to local Japanese media reports, Tokyo’s plan includes building a bunker for about 200 people under Yonaguni’s town hall and using an underground parking garage as a shelter for up to 500 people on Miyakojima, an island 235 kilometres east of Yonaguni. In addition, Miyakojima serves as a hub for air surveillance and other military facilities, including ammunition storage. Japan’s Camp Ishigaki military base, located less than 300km from Taiwan, is equipped with anti-ship missiles.

Both Japan and the US operate major military bases on the larger island of Okinawa further to the northeast. Yonaguni is the end point of the Ryukyu Islands, a chain that stretches about 1,200km from Japan’s main islands.

Over the past two months, the US Marine Corps has been sending medical supplies and disaster response equipment to Yonaguni, according to a report last week by Naval News, with the corps aiming to make it a focal point in the first-island chain strategy. The US-led strategy is meant to contain China in the western Pacific Ocean. The first island chain runs along East Asia’s coastline, from the Kuril Islands through Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines down to Borneo.

A Chinese military expert said Japan’s missile deployment on Yonaguni would pose a serious threat.

“When the PLA conducts encirclement drills around Taiwan, we will inevitably pass near Yonaguni Island and the first priority would be to closely monitor and guard against their surface-to-air missile systems”, said Fu Qianshao, a military analyst and former member of the PLA Air Force. “The moment they use force to interfere in Taiwan-related affairs, those bases and weapons systems, including their air-defence systems, would inevitably become our primary targets for strike”, Fu added.

Team Maverick