Ready for WAR: Japan building missile base near China to ‘protect from invasion’
JAPAN will build new missile batteries to combat the threat posed by China, reports reveal.
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The move is part of a military expansion that will see anti-ship and anti-aircraft cruise missile batteries joined by troop garrisons and radar installations installed on Japanese islands.
The fortification comes as Beijing has aggressively sought to extend its power in the South China Sea to wrestle control of shipping lanes and islands from other nations.
Ishigaki island mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama said: “Until China becomes a country with a normal political system, we need to protect ourselves.”
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However preparations were met by protests from some residents of the island fear the move will make them a target for China’s huge military.
Anti-base activist Shizuo Ota said: “We’d be wiped out in an instant.”
Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera confirmed the missiles were needed to protect the island from invasion.
we need to protect ourselves
Japan is thought to see an expansionist China as its biggest threat in the long-term and has responded by a move away from the pacifist ideals it has held since the end of the World War 2.
The military is set to receive a 2.5 per cent boost in annual spending including the expansion including the island missiles, its first ever cruise missiles.
The spending increase is expected to be announced on Friday by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is seen as a response to China.
Commander of Ishigaki’s coast guard Rear Adm. Atsushi Tohyama said: “The Chinese ships are getting bigger and more modern.
“In that sense, they are escalating the situation.”
Japan’s militarisation comes has also been put down to pressure and support from the United States as they see the island nation as a key ally near China.
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Beijing responded to the fortification on Ishigaki Island which governs over a group of smaller uninhabited island that China and Japan both claim.
The Chinese foreign ministry said: “Due to historical reasons, Japan’s military and security policies receive a high level of concern from Asian neighbours and the international community.
“We hope that Japan will adhere to the path of peaceful development and refrain from doing anything that would damage regional peace and stability.”
