US missile shield near Taiwan fires up furious China 

A United States plan to deploy sophisticated missiles on a Japanese island chain close to Taiwan is prompting an angry reaction from China and its close ally Russia.

The US is drawing up a joint military blueprint with Japan to deploy High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems or HIMARS and other weapons to Japan’s Nansei islands, according to a report by Kyodo News.

Citing unnamed sources, the plan is expected to be completed by December. The island chain stretches from Japan’s main islands to within 200 kilometers of Taiwan and includes Okinawa, which has a major American military presence. 

The US could use the missiles to defend Taiwan in case of a Chinese invasion of the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as a renegade province.

Part of the plan for the first joint operation by the US and Japan will involve sending an American Marine Corps regiment with HIMARS and setting up temporary bases on the Nansai islands, Kyodo News reported. 

Defense capabilities

The Japan Self-Defense Forces would be expected to provide logistic support, including fuel and ammunition. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson criticized the reported plan at a press conference earlier this week: 

China opposes relevant countries using the Taiwan question as an excuse to strengthen military deployment in the region, heighten tensions and confrontation, and disturb regional peace and stability.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova responded with a stronger statement. She warned that Moscow would respond to the deployment with “necessary steps” to strengthen its defense capabilities. Zakharova told Russian news agency Tass:

We have repeatedly warned the Japanese side that if, as a result of such cooperation, US medium-range missiles emerge on its territory, this will pose a real threat to the security of our country.

Tass also quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov urging Washington to reconsider the deployment of missiles to the Asia-Pacific. He warned Moscow will not rule out stationing missiles in response.

Earlier in November, Russian President Vladimir Putin said China is Russia’s ally and “Taiwan is part of China.” He pointed out that the Chinese military conducting wargames near the island is “a completely reasonable policy,” with Taipei escalating tensions.

While Moscow and Beijing have no formal military treaty, Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have spoken of a “no limits” partnership. Washington has also accused China of supporting Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine.

US Secretary Antony Blinken said at a press conference held at the G7 meeting in Italy this week that China’s support for the Russian defense industry is “allowing Russia to continue the aggression against Ukraine.”

Despite Moscow’s alarming rhetoric, analysts stressed that the deployment of HIMARS to the region is primarily aimed at protecting Taiwan from Chinese warships. Michael O’Hanlon at the Brookings Institution said:

The most important purpose of HIMARS [would be] an anti-ship capability [and to] protect the island and base itself.

Taiwan invasion

Admiral Samuel Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said at a Brookings Institution forum last week that China has conducted its largest rehearsal to date this summer for an invasion of Taiwan.

He confirmed it involved 152 vessels and cautioned that the US “must be ready.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy possesses the world’s largest fleet with more than 370 ships and submarines. The US has about 290 vessels.

Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, felt HIMARS on the Nansei islands “could help sink amphibious landing ships.” He said:

[They could also be used against] destroyers and other PLA Navy ships that might approach the island from the north [and also] target concentrations of PLA troops on beaches near Taipei.

“The fielding of these weapons systems shows that the US and its allies are learning lessons from the Ukraine theater, where HIMARS have been effectively deployed against Russia,” Heath added.

The US also plans to deploy the Multi-Domain Task Force’s, or MDTS, long-range firing units to the Philippines, Kyodo News said. The MDTS uses HIMARS as long-range firing units.

“The deployment of HIMARS to Nansei islands and long-range firing units to the Philippines will impose greater costs on China,” Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi at Tokyo International University Institute for International Strategy said.

The nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative added:

Both locations are vital to deter China’s aggressive moves in not only the Taiwan Strait and East China Seas but also Beijing’s ambitions in the Pacific. Still, one can expect China to do more to outdo such measures by enhancing [its] military readiness and conducting more assertive activities in the coming years.

Military access

Taiwan and the Philippines, as well as Japan and Indonesia, make up what China calls the first island chain, potentially blocking its military access to the Pacific.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin concluded a nine-day trip to the Indo-Pacific earlier this week after a series of meetings with the defense heads of countries in the region, including Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and South Korea.

At the meetings, Japan agreed to increase its participation in annual trilateral amphibious training with the US and Australia. The Philippines agreed to share military intelligence by signing a General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA with Washington.

Christy Lee is a producer with Voice of America.

This article is republished courtesy of Voice of America. Read the original article here.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of China Factor.