US to set up temporary bases along Japan’s Nansei chain to contain China

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.

Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Official_U.S._Navy_Imagery_-_USS_Kidd_(DDG_100),_USS_Dewey_(DDG_105),_and_USS_Pinckney_(DDG_91)_are_underway_in_the_Pacific_Ocean..jpg by Flinfo

Flickr - Official U.S. Navy Imagery

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.

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Taiwan officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 square miles), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated. The combined territories under ROC control consist of 168 islands in total covering 36,193 square kilometres (13,974 square miles). The largest metropolitan area is formed by Taipei (the capital), New Taipei City, and Keelung. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.

The Ryukyu Islands, also known as the Nansei Islands ("Southwest Islands") or the Ryukyu Arc, are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands (Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture (Daitō, Miyako, Yaeyama, Senkaku, Okinawa, Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), and Yonaguni as the westernmost). The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island.