The Japan Self-Defense Force has placed a cellular radar formula on Kita Daito Island in the Philippine Sea to expand Japan’s functions in the region. Meanwhile, the Navy Expeditionary Unit conducted live-fire training on Wednesday and the Russian Pacific Naval Fleet finished joint exercises with the Joint Command of Troops and Forces were held in the northeast of the Russian Federation on Friday.
At a press conference on Friday, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara announced that the Defense Ministry and the JSDF announced plans to deploy a Japanese Air Force self-defense radar formula on the island 225 miles east of Okinawa on Thursday.
Kihara said there is a pressing need for Japan for its tracking and tracking functions on the Pacific Ocean side of Japan (Japan does not use the term Philippine Sea, but refers to it as the Pacific Ocean) due to the expansion and intensification of its activities. through neighboring countries. Activities in the maritime and air space around Japan.
“In addition, we believe that by building a continuous surveillance infrastructure, Japan will demonstrate its willingness and ability to protect its territory, territorial waters and airspace, as well as the lives and property of its citizens, which is also very important. to deter armed attacks on Japan,” Kihara said.
Kita Daito Island is a vital position for uninterrupted surveillance throughout Japan, given that it is located on the Pacific side of the Miyako Strait, between Miyako Island and Okinawa, Kihara said. A deployment timeline has not yet been set, but the Defense Ministry needs to deploy the radar as soon as imaginable after consulting with interlocutors on the island, he said.
Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida’s administration has bolstered Japan’s defense functions, specifically around the southwestern islands, along with the Japanese-owned Senkaku Islands, claimed through China. Japan has taken steps to deploy and strengthen its surveillance functions in the region. while strengthening its military functions in the region, adding through the deployment of surface-to-surface anti-ship missile systems and Patriot air defense and ballistic missile systems in the region.
However, new army deployments and presences in Japan require the Ministry of Defense to report and consult with local authorities. In the case of Kita Daito Island, the population is asking for the presence of the Japanese army. A 2021 op-ed calling for help protecting opponents. to a “determined” foreign force presented through the community, according to the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
On Wednesday, in the Philippine Sea, the 31st MEU sank a moving educational target sent during an expeditionary strike exercise, according to a Marine Corps released Thursday. An AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter, attached to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 262 Reinforced, 31st MEU, fired an active AGM-179 joint air-to-surface missile (JAGM), hitting a moving towed educational shipment during an educational mission at sea.
“The good fortune of this expeditionary attack demonstrates the ability of the 31st MEU to perform precision movements at sea and safeguard a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Meanwhile, ships from the Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) sailed near Japan during the week, according to reports from the Joint Chiefs of Staff Office. On Wednesday, the JSO released a report stating that at 6 p. m. On Tuesday, the Russian Navy corvette RFS Sovershennyy (333) was spotted sailing west 40 km northeast of Cape Soya on the main island of Hokkaido. The Russian corvette then sailed west through the Strait of La Pérouse, which separates Hokkaido from the Russian island of Sakhalin. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s JS Kumataka (PG-827) fast attack vessel followed the Russian corvette, according to the statement.
A JSO moment on Wednesday said that at 1 a. m. On that day, the destroyer PLAN CNS Kaifeng (12four) and the frigate CNS Yantai (538) were sighted sailing southeast in an area 50 km southwest of the Kusagaki Islands. to the east through the Osumi Strait, which lies between the Osumi Peninsula on the main island of Kyushu and the island of Tanegashima, and entered the Pacific Ocean. The JS Shirataka fast attack craft (PG-829) and a JMSDF P-1 maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) from Fleet Air Wing four founded at Naval Air Station Atsugi on the main island of Honshu observed the PLAN ships, he said.
On Friday, the JSO issued a summary of Kaifeng and Yantai’s most recent moves, stating that as of 2 p. m. On Thursday, the two PLAN ships were seen sailing northwest at a domain 40 km southeast of Cape Toi, Kyushu, and then sailed west through the domain. The Osumi Strait enters the East China Sea. The JSO said that the Fleet tanker JS Omi (AOE-426) and a JMSDF P-1 from Fleet Air Wing 1 founded at JMSDF Kanoya Air Base in Kyushu were conducting surveillance on PLAN ships.
On Thursday, the JSO issued a statement that at 1 a. m. , the PLAN cruiser CNS Lhasa (102) and fleet tanker CNS Kekexilihu (903) were sighted sailing northeast in a domain 60 km southwest of Tsushima, and then sailed northeast through the Tsushima. Multipurpose aid shipment JS Amakusa (AMS-four303) and a JMSDF P-1 MPA from Fleet Air Wing four observed the PLAN shipments, according to theArray
The Russian Pacific Fleet on Friday ended joint exercises with the Joint Command of Troops and Forces in the northeast of the Russian Federation. of the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, under the general direction of the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Viktor Liina,” reads a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
According to the statement, during operations at sea, the forces of the Russian Pacific Fleet conducted more than 800 combat exercises, 650 of which were carried out with the practical use of weapons systems. In other stages, anti-submarine actions and organizational movements at sea. Joint missile movements against traditional enemy ship equipment, combat education, and education were carried out to repel drone and drone attacks. A total of 40 ships and small boats, as well as aircraft and helicopters from the Pacific Fleet, participated in the exercises. Naval Air Force, adding Tu-142MZ long-range anti-submarine aircraft, IL-38 and IL-38N aircraft and Ka-29 aircraft and Ka-27 helicopters. Maritime arrays of the Russian Pacific Fleet as well as KH arrays K-35 and K-300P coastal defense missiles also participated in the exercises.
Dzirhan Mahadzir is a freelance journalist and analyst in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Some of the publications he has written for and has been writing for since 1998 include Defense Review Asia, Jane’s Defense Weekly, Navy International, International Defense Review, Asian Defense Journal, Defense Helicopter, Asian Military Review, and Asia-Pacific Defense Reporter.
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