Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday.
The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast.
Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said.
Photo: CNA
Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties. It would also place Japanese forces beyond the reach of adversary strikes, it said.
A Japanese Ministry of Defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move would “dramatically enhance deterrence.”
The Kumamoto deployment is part of a wider plan to station guided missiles and hypervelocity gliding projectiles at bases nationwide, including in Miyazaki, Ibaraki, Shizuoka, Kanagawa, Hokkaido and Okinawa, the report said.
The accelerated timeline also reflects a US intelligence assessment saying that China could be capable of annexing Taiwan as early as 2027, it said.
Kyushu Defense Bureau Director-General Kazuhiro Ito on Friday briefed Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura on the planned deployment at Kengun Garrison.
“National defense is the sole responsibility of the central government. This decision is the result of years of study,” Kimura said, urging the ministry to explain the plan to the public to ease concern that the prefecture could become a target in a Taiwan Strait conflict.
Separately, the US Department of Defense has completed a draft of its National Defense Strategy for this year, which would highlight Taiwan’s strategic importance, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported.
The 80-page draft draws heavily on US Vice President J.D. Vance’s speeches and interviews, including remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February, the report said.
It is also shaped by US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby’s call to make China the central focus of US defense planning, the Nikkei said.
US officials said the new defense strategy rests on four pillars: homeland defense, deterring China, burden-sharing with allies and partners, and revitalizing the US defense industrial base.
While serving in the US Senate before he was picked by US President Donald Trump as US vice presidential candidate, Vance repeatedly advocated for a “restrained” US foreign policy and US allies assuming greater responsibility for their own security.
Colby, a leading figure in the “prioritization” foreign policy camp — the view that the US should focus its resources on denying Chinese hegemony in Asia — said that Chinese control of Taiwan would upend the regional balance of power and endanger US security.
Although Colby sparked controversy during his US Senate confirmation hearings by saying that Taiwan is not a US “vital interest,” the new National Security Strategy is expected to explicitly affirm Taiwan’s strategic importance.
A public summary of the strategy is due this fall, although most of the document is likely to remain classified.
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