GSDF to deploy 500 personnel to Ishigaki
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Yomiuri Shimbun The government will send about 500 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel to Ishigakijima island in Okinawa Prefecture in a planned deployment to strengthen defense of the Nansei Islands, it has been learned.
The government aims to complete the deployment under the next Mid-Term Defense Program from fiscal 2019 to 2023, according to sources.
Vice Defense Minister Kenji Wakamiya will visit the island to seek Ishigaki Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama’s understanding on the issue as early as this week, the sources said.
The planned deployment is expected to include security, missile and other units that could handle initial responses to major disasters and attacks on outlying islands.
The government initially planned to study the deployment under the current Mid-Term Defense Program and to decide on the details — including the the number of personnel — in 2014.
However, the government decided to delay the decision because of the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November last year, concluding the prefecture’s burden “shouldn’t be increased,” according to a senior Defense Ministry official.
The government is trying to strengthen the Nansei Islands’ defenses because of China’s increased maritime advances in the East China Sea.
On Nov. 11 and 12, Chinese intelligence vessels approached the contiguous zone — a 22-kilometer strip beyond territorial waters — off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
This fiscal year, the government plans to deploy a 150-person coastal surveillance unit to the nation’s westernmost point, Yonagunijima island in Okinawa Prefecture. Deployments of security and missile units are planned by fiscal 2018 to Miyakojima island in Okinawa Prefecture with 700 to 800 personnel and to Amami-Oshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture with 550 members.
The government plans to deploy long-range ground-to-air and ground-to-ship missiles to Ishigaki, Miyako and Amami-Oshima islands to increase deterrence against fighter planes and warships trying to approach Japanese territory.
The Nansei Islands are an important area for national security, extending over about 1,200 kilometers. However, GSDF personnel are only stationed on Okinawa Island.
Decisions on the details of the GSDF deployment to Ishigakijima mean that the government has completed compiling the defense plan for the Nansei Islands.
GSDF to deploy 500 personnel to Ishigaki - The Japan News
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Yomiuri Shimbun The government will send about 500 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel to Ishigakijima island in Okinawa Prefecture in a planned deployment to strengthen defense of the Nansei Islands, it has been learned.
The government aims to complete the deployment under the next Mid-Term Defense Program from fiscal 2019 to 2023, according to sources.
Vice Defense Minister Kenji Wakamiya will visit the island to seek Ishigaki Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama’s understanding on the issue as early as this week, the sources said.
The planned deployment is expected to include security, missile and other units that could handle initial responses to major disasters and attacks on outlying islands.
The government initially planned to study the deployment under the current Mid-Term Defense Program and to decide on the details — including the the number of personnel — in 2014.
However, the government decided to delay the decision because of the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November last year, concluding the prefecture’s burden “shouldn’t be increased,” according to a senior Defense Ministry official.
The government is trying to strengthen the Nansei Islands’ defenses because of China’s increased maritime advances in the East China Sea.
On Nov. 11 and 12, Chinese intelligence vessels approached the contiguous zone — a 22-kilometer strip beyond territorial waters — off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
This fiscal year, the government plans to deploy a 150-person coastal surveillance unit to the nation’s westernmost point, Yonagunijima island in Okinawa Prefecture. Deployments of security and missile units are planned by fiscal 2018 to Miyakojima island in Okinawa Prefecture with 700 to 800 personnel and to Amami-Oshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture with 550 members.
The government plans to deploy long-range ground-to-air and ground-to-ship missiles to Ishigaki, Miyako and Amami-Oshima islands to increase deterrence against fighter planes and warships trying to approach Japanese territory.
The Nansei Islands are an important area for national security, extending over about 1,200 kilometers. However, GSDF personnel are only stationed on Okinawa Island.
Decisions on the details of the GSDF deployment to Ishigakijima mean that the government has completed compiling the defense plan for the Nansei Islands.
GSDF to deploy 500 personnel to Ishigaki - The Japan News
