The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force recently deployed a newly created ground-to-surface missile company that is to be based in Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture, while expanding an electronic warfare unit on Yonaguni Island, Japan’s closest island to Taiwan.
A report by Kyodo News on Thursday said that the deployment was to bolster Japan’s defenses in its southwestern region in case sudden incidents occur around Taiwan.
The report said that the new company was named the 7 ground-to-surface missile company and is tasked with defending Miyakojima City, Ishigaki City and Amami Oshima Island.
Photo: AP
However, the report said that the Ground Self-Defense Force’s decision has raised discontent amongst the local populace, with 70 residents gathering in front of the force’s Camp Katsuren in protest on Thursday.
Opposition representatives said that if Okinawa residents accepted the company’s deployment without opposition, “there is no telling how the company will be reinforced,” adding that Okinawa should not become a weapon of war, the report said.
The report said that an electronic warfare unit, about 40 people strong, was deployed from Kumamoto Prefecture to Yonaguni to jam or interfere with hostile forces’ signals and radar stations.
Meanwhile, Yonaguni Island has been the home base of a 160-person electronic warfare unit since 2016, primarily tasked with monitoring the movements of nearby ships, the report added.
The Yonaguni garrison is expected to expand its base eastward, with a shooting range and munitions warehouse built in the new areas and facilities to house a planned deployment of a surface-to-air missile company, it said.
Ground Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Yasunori Morishita told Kyodo News that the newly created unit would strengthen the force’s ability to react and deter a potential invasion by hostile forces.
Morishita said the force would explain to residents why the units’ deployment is necessary to safeguard Japan’s southwestern region.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS