They will be equipped with missiles and other mainly light weapons to be able to guarantee the deterrence of China’s military
The US government plans to deploy Marine Corps units to various parts of Okinawa by 2026, equipping them with missiles and other mostly light weaponry to be able to guarantee deterrence against China’s military.
Okinawa is part of a cluster of islands in the East China Sea, in places only 100 kilometers from Taiwan.
In fact, the American government has already discussed the plan with the Japanese government, and is expected to present it tomorrow Wednesday, after a meeting of the defense and foreign ministers of the two states in Washington, reports the Yomiuri newspaper.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs avoided directly referring to Yomiuri’s report, however, he confirmed that “issues concerning US forces in Japan” will be discussed, including their “redeployment”.
However, the huge American military presence is causing strong resentment among the population, with local authorities asking for part of the troops to be deployed in other areas of the archipelago.
Although the reorganization of the Marines is not expected to mean an increase in the number of US troops in Okinawa, their presence is expected to become more widespread.
The creation of new units, which have been dubbed Marine Littoral Regiments, is part of the reorganization of the Marine Corps that was outlined in 2020 in a text (“Force Design 2030”) by its commander, General David Berger.
At the time, General Berger told the Reuters news agency that he was seeking close cooperation with the Japanese military so that China’s armed forces would not have easy access to the Pacific Ocean.
As part of the reorganization, the number of Marine aviation aircraft is being reduced and heavy artillery and main battle tanks are partially being sidelined in favor of smaller units, equipped with missiles and UAVs, dispersed and flexible, capable of operating in contested fields of operations. Japan currently has 18,000 Marines deployed — the largest number outside the continental US. Most are on bases per se
RES-EMP
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