Japan Is Considering Expanding A Ground Force Unit Based In Okinawa

Japan is considering expanding a ground force unit based in Okinawa to defend remote southwestern islands in preparation for an emergency involving Taiwan amid China's increasing assertiveness, a government source said on Saturday. 

A move that could further escalate tensions with China. The Department of Defense  plans to double the number of infantry regiments under the Ground Self-Defense Force's 15th Brigade to two and upgrade its top rank from major general to general, the  source said.

The proposed changes are expected to be  one of the three key security documents that the government will review later this month will effectively transform the unit into the equivalent of a division, ranked higher  than a brigade. 

The ministry is considering what  the proposed division should be named and how many personnel it would include, or the extent of expanding the current 2,200-strong 15th Brigade,  the source said. 

The 15th Brigade, based in Okinawa , the  capital of Naha Prefecture, has become a vanguard in the protection of the Nansei Islands, a chain of islands stretching southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan.

The brigade's mission includes defending the Senkaku Islands, a group of islands in the East China Sea  administered by Japan but claimed by China. As the infantry regiment expands, the source said the ministry  also plans to increase the number of units responsible for communications, building maintenance and supply of goods. 

Some administrative functions of the GSDF's Western Army at Kengun Camp  in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, are transferred to Okinawa and tasked with coordinating the evacuation and protection of civilians with local authorities  in . in an emergency, the source said.

It has also been proposed that some of the Western Army's support functions for missile units on outlying islands be transferred to the Okinawa-based unit, the source said. 

The promotion of the brigade's highest rank to general is intended to strengthen cooperation between Japan and the United States, as the title would correspond to the commanding general of the U.S

The III Marine Expeditionary Force of the Marine Corps, also based in Okinawa. While some brigade members are expected to transfer to the GSDF's Western Army during the reorganization, the planned expansion of the Okinawa unit will result in an overall increase in personnel. 

The Defense Ministry has continued to strengthen the Okinawa Self-Defense Forces in the face of China's maritime expansion activities, including repeatedly dispatching ships around  Senkakus  to undermine Japan's  control of the uninhabited islands. In 2016, the ministry set up a coastal surveillance unit on Japan's westernmost inhabited island of Yonaguni,  about 100 kilometers from Taiwan. 

Taiwan's fate is directly related to Japan's security. Following a trip  by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in August, the Chinese military conducted massive drills around the self-governing democratic island, including launching ballistic missiles, five of which landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea for the first time . 

Mainland China will never give up the right to use force to take control of Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a rogue province.