Japanese Troops To Deploy To East China Sea Island

Recent strained relations between China and Japan and Japanese concern over China's increased assertiveness have resulted in plans to station Japanese soldiers on Yonaguni Island.

Tokyo will send around 100 soldiers to a remote Japanese island in the East China Sea, a report said Thursday, amid growing anxiety over China's naval activities.

The ground troops will be deployed on Yonaguni island, Japan's westernmost point, to carry out coastal patrols and surveillance of Chinese naval vessels, Jiji news agency quoted defense officials as saying.

Tokyo eventually plans to double the number of troops stationed on Yonaguni, which is roughly 60 miles east of Taiwan, the report said.

Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa Nov. 11 stressed the importance of boosting defense in island areas, including Yonaguni, to a security committee meeting at the House of Representatives, Jiji reported.

The defense ministry has applied for 30 million yen ($365,000) from next year's budget for "preparatory research" on the issue, it said.

The Japanese military regularly sends patrol aircraft to the region but has no permanent monitoring facility on Yonaguni, a remote but populated rocky outcrop.

Increased Chinese naval activity has sparked a defense rethink in which Japan has mulled sending more forces to its scattered southern islands and away from Cold War-era bases in the north near Russia.

In an incident in April this year, a large Chinese flotilla approached a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea and sent out a helicopter that buzzed Japanese navy ships monitoring their movement.

The area is a frequent flashpoint for troubles between Japan and China.

By: Shelldrake