Japan is planning to upgrade the 15th Brigade in Okinawa Prefecture into a division and consolidate special operations units into a new brigade in response to rising security threats from China, the defense news Web site Defence Blog said.
Okinawa, host to about 70 percent of US military facilities in Japan, is seen as strategically important for monitoring China, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula.
Okinawa’s Yonaguni Island is just 108km from Taiwan.
Photo: Reuters
The Japanese Ministry of National Defense has previously disclosed plans to transform the 15th Brigade into the 15th Division next year, Japanese media reported.
In a report published on Sunday, the Defence Blog said the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) 15th Brigade, a 2,300-strong formation garrisoned in Naha, Okinawa, is tasked with defending Japan’s southwestern territories.
The upgraded division would include a second infantry regiment, a new unit equipped with Type 16 maneuver combat vehicles to replace the brigade reconnaissance company, and reinforced logistics and communications capabilities, the report said.
The reorganization would raise the unit’s authorized strength to about 3,200 troops, about equivalent to a brigade in many other militaries, it said.
Transforming the 15th Brigade into a division with only a modest increase in labor resources and equipment might reflect Tokyo’s intent to enhance interoperability with the US Marine Corps’ III Marine Expeditionary Force, which is essentially a reinforced division, it added.
Under the new structure, commanders of the Japanese and US forces tasked with joint Indo-Pacific operations would hold the rank of major general, facilitating coordination, the report said.
Another significant change under consideration is the creation of a Special Forces Brigade to place Japan’s elite units under a unified command. The plan would integrate the Special Forces Group, based at Camp Narashino in Chiba Prefecture, with the Central Readiness Regiment, based at Camp Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, it said.
The Special Forces Group is a 300-strong special missions unit modeled after the US Army’s Delta Force and the UK’s 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, while the Central Readiness Regiment is a 700-strong mechanized infantry formation capable of supporting special operations, the outlet said.
The consolidation of the JGDSF’s elite units into a brigade-level command is expected to enhance Japan’s capability to conduct special missions, including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue and direct action operations against high value targets, the outlet said.
“While the [Japanese] Ministry of Defense has not fully explained the reasons for the reorganization, analysts note that it reflects Japan’s ongoing military modernization and the need to respond more effectively to potential crises in its southwestern island chain,” Defence Blog said.
Additional reporting by AFP
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
RSS