Japan moves to bolster air defenses on island near Taiwan

Camp Yonaguni on Yonaguni Island, Okinawa, is pictured in this undated photo. (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)

Japan plans to deploy upgraded air defense missiles on its westernmost island — within sight of Taiwan — by 2031, a move that underscores Tokyo’s growing concern over regional security and tensions with China.

The Type-03 medium-range surface-to-air guided missiles are expected to be stationed at Camp Yonaguni during fiscal 2030, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters Tuesday in Tokyo. Japan’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.

“We are currently conducting basic studies on the development of facilities for the deployment of troops on the eastern side of the camp,” he said, according to video of a news conference posted to the Ministry of Defense website.

The timeline could change “depending on the progress of future facility development,” he said.

An Okinawa Defense Bureau spokesman declined to provide details over the phone Tuesday about when they would finish purchasing the land.

The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Japan and China over Taiwan. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said during a November parliamentary session that Tokyo could use military force in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

Beijing responded with condemnation and a diplomatic and economic campaign against Japan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in 2024 that Taiwan’s unification with the mainland is inevitable. In December, Chinese forces rehearsed a blockade of the island, including missile launches, as part of a series of military exercises.

The ministry also informed Yonaguni Town Mayor Tsueno Uechi of the decision, a spokesman for the town’s General Affairs Division said by phone Tuesday. He did not say when Uechi was notified.

Some Japanese government officials must speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.

The ministry plans to brief residents at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Yonaguni, according to the town’s website.

In 2022, the Defense Ministry announced plans to expand the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force base on Yonaguni to accommodate a missile unit. Yonaguni, about 70 miles east of Taiwan, is Japan’s westernmost island.

Koizumi reiterated the plan during a November news conference at Camp Yonaguni.

“We believe that this deployment will reduce the possibility of armed attacks on Japan,” he said, according to a transcript posted on the ministry’s website.

The missile unit could include about 100 personnel, according to a document posted Jan. 26 on the Yonaguni town website. As of March, the camp had about 230 personnel.

The unit will not conduct live-fire training on the island, according to a document posted June 5, 2023.

The upgraded Type-03 missiles will include enhancements designed to counter hypersonic glide vehicles — advanced warheads capable of traveling at hypersonic speeds — according to Defense Ministry information posted in December 2022.

In 2023, the Ground Self-Defense Force opened a missile base on Ishigaki Island at the far end of the Nansei chain stretching from Kyushu to Taiwan. That base houses Type-12 surface-to-ship missiles and Type-03 air defense missiles aimed at countering China’s growing military presence around Taiwan and in the East China Sea.