The US will set up temporary bases along Japan's Nansei island chain to deploy missile units to be prepared for a possible contingency on Taiwan, Kyodo news agency reports.
A US coastal defense regiment equipped with a highly mobile multiple launch rocket system will be deployed along the island chain that stretches from Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures to Taiwan, sources familiar with the state of affairs in the field of US-Japan relations told Kyodo.
The missile deployment will be included in the first joint US-Japan operation plan to handle a "contingency” involving China and Taiwan, which Beijing considers a "renegade province." The plan is to be formulated next month, the sources said.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces will primarily handle logistical support, including fuel and ammunition, in a new episode of defense cooperation between the two countries amid heightened tensions with China, North Korea and Russia.
In the Philippines, US forces will also deploy long-range fire units of the Multi-Medium Task Force, designed to operate in environments that include air, land, sea, space, cyberspace, and information.
In February 2023, the US and the Philippines agreed to increase the number of bases available for US military use in the archipelago from five to nine. Those bases are to be used during a possible Taiwan contingency.
In July, Japan and the Philippines decided to strengthen their security cooperation and signed a bilateral defense agreement to facilitate joint exercises and the ability to deploy their troops to both countries.