U.S. Marines deploy anti-ship systems on Japanese island near Taiwan for first time

The U.S. Marine Corps will deploy ground-based anti-ship and air defense systems on Yonaguni Island in southwestern Japan, approximately 110 kilometers from Taiwan, as part of the joint Keen Sword exercise, amid increased Chinese military activity in the region.

According to a Defense News report, the systems to be deployed on Yonaguni Island are NMESIS, an anti-ship missile system of the U.S. Navy and Marines, and MADIS, an integrated air defense system of the Marine Corps. According to the report, NMESIS is capable of striking targets at a range of approximately 185 kilometers.

Keen Sword, to be held between October 19 and 29, is the largest biennial joint exercise between the U.S. and Japan. According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, approximately 45,000 personnel from Japan's Self-Defense Forces will participate in it alongside forces from nine countries, including Australia and France. Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force will train with the Type-25 SSM, which has a strike range of up to 1,000 kilometers.

The U.S. military will also deploy HIMARS systems, and the Typhon missile launcher will be transferred to Okinawa in mid-month, but it has not been announced whether it will be deployed in the exercise. The deployment comes as Chinese Navy and Coast Guard vessels increase their activity around Taiwan, and in June Japan's government reported intrusions by Chinese Coast Guard ships into Japan's exclusive economic zone between Yonaguni and Taiwan.

Yonaguni is Japan's last inhabited island in this island chain and has become a forward military base in the region in recent years. Authorities on the island raised concerns about the use of roads, ports and civilian air routes during the exercise.