The village of Kitadaito, Okinawa Prefecture, will accept the planned deployment of an Air Self-Defense Force mobile radar, Mayor Mitsunori Onizuka said Monday.
Onizuka announced the decision at a meeting with Parliamentary Vice Minister of Defense Shingo Miyake in the village on an island about 360 kilometers east of Okinawa's main island.
The radar will monitor the Chinese military's growing activities in the Pacific. About 30 ASDF members will be stationed on the island. Construction will begin in fiscal 2025.
At the meeting, Miyake said, "Strengthening surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities on the Pacific side is becoming a pressing issue for the security of our country." Onizuka responded, "The village would like to accept the deployment, in view of its significance for defense." The mayor asked for full information sharing.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Miyake denied that the government currently has any plans to implement stronger base functions on the island in the future, but added, "The situation could change."
In the Defense Buildup Program, drawn up in 2022, the Defense Ministry vowed to strengthen the country's air defense posture in airspace surrounding the country, including the vast area on the Pacific side, by promoting the deployment of mobile radars on Pacific islands.