ID :
153830
Sat, 12/18/2010 - 08:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/153830
The shortlink copeid
GSDF coastal monitoring unit to be deployed to Nansei islands+
TOKYO, Dec. 17 Kyodo -
Japan will beef up Ground Self-Defense Force troops at its remote southwestern
Nansei Islands as a coastal monitoring unit under a new five-year midterm
defense buildup program from fiscal 2011 adopted Friday.
While the midterm defense buildup plan does not spell out the size of personnel
there, the GSDF plans to increase the number of its personnel on the Nansei
Islands, including Yonaguni Island, by up to 2,000, defense sources said.
The Air Self-Defense Force, meanwhile, will beef up the number of aircraft
squadrons to two from the current one at its Naha air base in Okinawa
Prefecture, the sources said.
Japan plans to build up defense capabilities on the Nansei islands, apparently
in reaction to China's rising military activities in the East China Sea, where
China is developing a gas field, called Shirakaba in Japan and Chunxiao in
China, according to the sources.
Japan will set up a mobile early-warning radar system at the Nansei islands and
dispatch E-2C early warning patrol planes from its Misawa air base in Aomori
Prefecture when needed, while increasing the number of helicopter-carrying
destroyers to quickly deploy troops in an emergency, the sources said.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force plans to deploy more submarines and conduct
maneuver-deployment drills aimed at improving its defense capabilities, they
said.
The GSDF will introduce 18 surface-to-ship guided missile launchers in fiscal
2011 and boost the figure to 100 or more in the five years of the midterm
program and deploy many of them to the Nansei islands.
The midterm defense buildup program also touches on responses to guerrilla and
commando attacks, cyber warfare and ballistic missile launches.
Given the defense program, people in Yonaguni Island, some 110 kilometers away
from Taiwan, expressed a mixture of expectation and anxiety.
In the face of a declining population, Yonaguni Mayor Shukichi Hokama said he
has much expectation for the SDF as its deployment on the island would boost
the local economy. Meanwhile, town assembly member Chiyoki Tasato said there
have not been troops on the island in the 65 years after World War II and
asked, ''Why does the town need the SDF now?''
Tasato also said the island would not need the SDF if it could rebuild ties
with Taiwan, and that it is necessary to enhance the capabilities of the Japan
Coast Guard to secure security in the region.
==Kyodo
Japan will beef up Ground Self-Defense Force troops at its remote southwestern
Nansei Islands as a coastal monitoring unit under a new five-year midterm
defense buildup program from fiscal 2011 adopted Friday.
While the midterm defense buildup plan does not spell out the size of personnel
there, the GSDF plans to increase the number of its personnel on the Nansei
Islands, including Yonaguni Island, by up to 2,000, defense sources said.
The Air Self-Defense Force, meanwhile, will beef up the number of aircraft
squadrons to two from the current one at its Naha air base in Okinawa
Prefecture, the sources said.
Japan plans to build up defense capabilities on the Nansei islands, apparently
in reaction to China's rising military activities in the East China Sea, where
China is developing a gas field, called Shirakaba in Japan and Chunxiao in
China, according to the sources.
Japan will set up a mobile early-warning radar system at the Nansei islands and
dispatch E-2C early warning patrol planes from its Misawa air base in Aomori
Prefecture when needed, while increasing the number of helicopter-carrying
destroyers to quickly deploy troops in an emergency, the sources said.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force plans to deploy more submarines and conduct
maneuver-deployment drills aimed at improving its defense capabilities, they
said.
The GSDF will introduce 18 surface-to-ship guided missile launchers in fiscal
2011 and boost the figure to 100 or more in the five years of the midterm
program and deploy many of them to the Nansei islands.
The midterm defense buildup program also touches on responses to guerrilla and
commando attacks, cyber warfare and ballistic missile launches.
Given the defense program, people in Yonaguni Island, some 110 kilometers away
from Taiwan, expressed a mixture of expectation and anxiety.
In the face of a declining population, Yonaguni Mayor Shukichi Hokama said he
has much expectation for the SDF as its deployment on the island would boost
the local economy. Meanwhile, town assembly member Chiyoki Tasato said there
have not been troops on the island in the 65 years after World War II and
asked, ''Why does the town need the SDF now?''
Tasato also said the island would not need the SDF if it could rebuild ties
with Taiwan, and that it is necessary to enhance the capabilities of the Japan
Coast Guard to secure security in the region.
==Kyodo
