Japan to Watch China At Sea

For you Marine Corps planners who think about how the Marines can be used in littoral operations and sea control, this news from Japan might interest you.

Tokyo is considering placing troops on a remote Japanese island in the East China Sea to monitor China’s expanded naval activities that have worried its neighbors, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday.

The defense ministry wishes to create a “coastal security surveillance team” with the main mission to radar-monitor Chinese naval activities, the newspaper said, citing ministry sources.

Japanese defense officials were considering placing about 200 troops on Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island, roughly 100km east of Taiwan, the paper said.

The Japanese military regularly sends patrol aircraft to the region, but has no permanent monitoring facility there, the report said.

However, a defense ministry official denied the report, saying no such decision has been made.

In the next war involving Navy's, this will be a very common use of a Marine Corps rifle company. It may not be as sexy as storming hostile shores, but it is the not-so-sexy critical role of the Marine Corps in protecting sea lines of communication.

Yonaguni Island is in the Yaeyama islands chain east of Taiwan, and is the closest island to Taiwan. China will not be happy.