Japan to Deploy Island Missile Defenses to Counter China Military Blockade

Japan has planned to place an additional “500 to 600” missile defense personnel on Ishigaki island in a move that will boost allied capabilities to counter China’s area denial tactics within the first island chain.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

Ishigaki Island is a Japanese island south-west of Okinawa Hontō and the second-largest island of the Yaeyama Island group.

It is within the City of Ishigaki in Okinawa Prefecture. The city functions as the business and transport center of the archipelago. The island is served by New Ishigaki Airport, the largest airport in the Yaeyamas.

Japan will bolster the first island chain with further missile defenses on four Okinawa islands in the Western Pacific, including Miyako and the main Okinawa island where the majority of forward-deployed U.S. forces are stationed.