{"id":132061,"date":"2026-02-25T07:02:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T07:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/japan-to-deploy-missiles-on-island-near-taiwan-by-2031\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T07:02:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T07:02:45","slug":"japan-to-deploy-missiles-on-island-near-taiwan-by-2031","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/japan-to-deploy-missiles-on-island-near-taiwan-by-2031\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan to deploy missiles on island near Taiwan by 2031"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Japan plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles to its remote western island near Taiwan by March 2031, its defence minister said, as regional tensions simmer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It is the first time that Japan specified a timeline for the missile deployment to Yonaguni island since it was announced in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to \u201creunify\u201d with it. Yonaguni is visible from Taiwan\u2019s shores on a clear day, located just 110km (68 miles) away.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have run high since November when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi appeared to suggest that Japan would activate its self-defence force in the event of an attack on Taiwan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The worry has long been that any attack on Taiwan, which counts the US as an ally, could result in a direct military conflict between Washington and Beijing, then widen to include other US allies in the region such as Japan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Takaichi\u2019s remarks to parliament plunged ties with China to their lowest level in years and Beijing has been piling on the pressure in a wide range of ways \u2013 sending warships, throttling rare earth exports, curbing Chinese tourism, cancelling concerts and even reclaiming its pandas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Japanese defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the timeline for the missiles on Tuesday, a day after China imposed export curbs on 20 Japanese companies and entities, citing national security concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Koizumi said the Yonaguni unit will be equipped with medium-range surface-to-air missiles able to intercept incoming aircraft and missiles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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With a range of about 50km and 360-degree capability, the Japanese-made missile system can track up to 100 targets simultaneously and engage up to 12 at once.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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China has yet to react to Koizumi\u2019s announcement. But when Koizumi visited Yonaguni in November, Beijing said Japan was moving to \u201ccreate regional tension and provoke military confrontation\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Within days, China flew drones near the island to express its anger, prompting Japan to scramble aircraft jets in response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The latest developments come after Takaichi secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections earlier this month. That victory gave Takaichi political space to double down on boosting Japan\u2019s defence capabilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This makes the announcement on Yonaguni island more than just a military adjustment \u2013 it looks like the opening chapter for a more assertive Tokyo. And as Takaichi bolsters the country\u2019s military and defence budget, such assertiveness seems unlikely to end here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Yonaguni announcement also shows where Japan sees its front line \u2013 and how far it is prepared to go to defend it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Over the past decade, Japan has transformed sleepy Yonaguni into a military outpost, which currently handles coastal surveillance and is staffed by some 160 members of Japan\u2019s self-defence force.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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An electronic warfare unit capable of disrupting enemy communications and radar will be set up there in fiscal year 2026, which runs from April to March next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The timing for the deployment of the missile unit \u201cmay change depending on the progress of future facility improvements, but the current plan is for fiscal year 2030\u201d, Koizumi said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Japan to deploy missiles on island near Taiwan by 2031<\/a> appeared first on KBC Digital<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles to its remote western island near Taiwan by March 2031, its defence minister said, as regional tensions simmer. It is the first time that Japan specified a timeline for the missile deployment to Yonaguni island since it was announced in 2022. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132061\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}