US Plans to Deploy Missile System on Yonaguni; Chinese Expert Warns of Risk of Intervention in Taiwan Question

Dragon Media News Desk

The US military plans to deploy a land-based anti-ship missile system for the first time on Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island, during joint military drills with Japan starting on October 19, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces also plan to deploy their own land-based anti-ship missiles there, the report said.

The US system, the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS), can mount anti-ship missiles with a range of more than 180 kilometers on remotely operated unmanned vehicles, according to NHK. The Japanese system reportedly has a range of more than 100 kilometers. This would be the first time either system is deployed to Yonaguni.

Chinese military affairs expert Song Zhongping said that deploying missile systems on Yonaguni, about 110 kilometers from Taiwan Island, could fuel concerns that Japan and the US might intervene militarily in China’s Taiwan question and increase the risk of miscalculation. In the event of a conflict, forces on Yonaguni involved in such an intervention could become early targets, he warned.

Song said deployment on Yonaguni would not necessarily provide a military advantage. The island’s limited size and lack of strategic depth could leave the systems vulnerable to detection and attack during a conflict. He added that China’s People’s Liberation Army has surveillance, reconnaissance and precision-strike capabilities, including drones, and that weapons deployed on frontline islands could become priority targets.

According to the report, the US and Japan held joint military drills in May on the southwestern Nansei Islands, about 110 kilometers from Taiwan, and established a joint command center. Japan’s defense minister said at the time that the exercise aimed to strengthen regional deterrence and emergency operational capabilities.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said military cooperation between relevant countries should not target a third party, harm its interests or undermine regional peace and stability. He said Japan’s right-wing forces were taking increasingly risky and provocative steps in the military and security fields, adding that “neo-militarism is increasingly showing signs of becoming a potential source of turmoil in East Asia.”

Song attributed the deterioration in China-Japan relations partly to US tolerance of Japan’s increasingly provocative approach toward China and partly to the Takaichi administration’s repeated emphasis on the Taiwan question. He said continued Japanese interference in the matter could further damage bilateral relations, threaten regional peace and stability, and ultimately harm Japan’s own interests.