The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force recently deployed a newly created ground-to-surface missile company that is to be based in Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture, while expanding an electronic warfare unit on Yonaguni Island, Japan’s closest island to Taiwan.
A report by Kyodo News on Thursday said that the deployment was to bolster Japan’s defenses in its southwestern region in case sudden incidents occur around Taiwan.
The report said that the new company was named the 7 ground-to-surface missile company and is tasked with defending Miyakojima City, Ishigaki City and Amami Oshima Island.
Photo: AP
However, the report said that the Ground Self-Defense Force’s decision has raised discontent amongst the local populace, with 70 residents gathering in front of the force’s Camp Katsuren in protest on Thursday.
Opposition representatives said that if Okinawa residents accepted the company’s deployment without opposition, “there is no telling how the company will be reinforced,” adding that Okinawa should not become a weapon of war, the report said.
The report said that an electronic warfare unit, about 40 people strong, was deployed from Kumamoto Prefecture to Yonaguni to jam or interfere with hostile forces’ signals and radar stations.
Meanwhile, Yonaguni Island has been the home base of a 160-person electronic warfare unit since 2016, primarily tasked with monitoring the movements of nearby ships, the report added.
The Yonaguni garrison is expected to expand its base eastward, with a shooting range and munitions warehouse built in the new areas and facilities to house a planned deployment of a surface-to-air missile company, it said.
Ground Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Yasunori Morishita told Kyodo News that the newly created unit would strengthen the force’s ability to react and deter a potential invasion by hostile forces.
Morishita said the force would explain to residents why the units’ deployment is necessary to safeguard Japan’s southwestern region.
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