Global Times ran what it called an exclusive yesterday reporting that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military have conspired several times since 2021 to assist Washington in deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Japan’s southwest islands in order to achieve “integrated deterrence” against China by strengthening construction of the “first Island chain,” according to a source “close to the matter.”
Military experts believe that the plot between Japan and the U.S. is not conducive to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and reflects Japan’s sinister intention to unite with the U.S. to jointly confront China, Global Times continued. Japan will bear the blow and suffer the consequences, military experts warned. Although the Kishida administration has not yet made a final public decision on the U.S. deployment of mid-range missiles in the country, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces have substantially escalated the preliminary preparations for such deployment given the flexibility of the land-based mid-range missile equipment, according to the source.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. John Aquilino inspected the preparations for the military bases in Japan’s southwest islands in November 2021 accompanied by Koji Yamazaki, Chief of the Joint Staff of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
