Chinese Territorial Incursions Prompt Japanese Military Buildup Near Taiwan
Map of distance from Yonaguni island to both Taiwan and Tokyo. (Photo credit: Radio Free Asia)
The Japanese military has been shoring up its defensive capabilities on the small island of Yonaguni, which is the nation’s westernmost island, and closest to Taiwan. Despite its small population, the island has become essential to the Japanese military in the past few years. Its defensive capacity makes it a key strategic outpost to protect against Chinese incursions upon its southwest archipelago.
Yonaguni is particularly important, as it is only 111km/68 miles from Taiwan. Currently, the island has radar missile sites and in 2016 converted a cattle ranch into the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Yonaguni, where U.S. and Japanese forces conduct joint exercises. The military forces assembled there have been called upon more frequently to warn Chinese sea vessels which cross into Japan’s contiguous waters, including an aircraft carrier and survey ships. Additionally, Russian and Chinese aircraft have violated Japanese airspace on several occasions, necessitating “vigilance and surveillance operations” by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, some based on Yonaguni.
These incursions have been increasing, with experts claiming that the Chinese are not only testing the territorial integrity of the area around Taiwan, but also gauging Japan’s response. These incursions are seen in tandem with other forays into the territory of other U.S. allies, including Australia, as a test of their military capacity and response times.
Yonaguni Island (Photo Credit: South China Morning Post)
This kind of increased threat is not new information to Japan, which is aware that it has been facing “unprecedented external threats” in the past few years from its neighbors North Korea, China, and Russia. As a response, Japan has implemented a record 2025 defense budget. While Japan has typically capped its defense budget at 1% of its GDP, its new plans are to spend 2% of GDP on defense by 2027. This increase is a planned $57 billion investment in its military capabilities. Part of this increase in spending is also to reduce security dependency on the U.S., as indicated by recent discussions between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in which they stated that the defense budget will “consolidate [...] primary responsibility for defending Japan.”
Included in the increased budget are plans for constructing additional defense infrastructure. This includes a new missile unit as well as an expanded port and airport. These installations, coupled with the cancellation of the 2023 proposed ferry from Yonaguni to Taiwan, are indicative of Japan’s efforts to increase protective measures against external threats, especially in the East China Sea.
In addition to defensive measures implemented on Yonaguni, the Japanese military, as part of its defense plan, intends to employ “stand-off defense capability (counterattack capability)” from the end of 2025, as well as joint operations. According to Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff, Joint Staff, and Japan’s top military officer, their aim is not only to defend their own territorial integrity, but also to maintain international law and order among increasingly complex international conflicts.