US to deploy anti-ship missile system to Japanese island near Taiwan

The US is set to deploy one of its signature anti-ship missile systems to the Japanese island closest to Taiwan, an unprecedented move that comes as tensions in the region between Beijing and Tokyo continue to simmer.

The ground-based US uncrewed missile platform known as the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) will be deployed on Yonaguni Island in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture during biennial joint exercises this month, according to the regional bureau of the Japanese defence ministry.

It will mark the first NMESIS deployment on Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island lying just about 110km (62 miles) from the eastern coast of Taiwan, although the US military operated the system elsewhere on Okinawa last year.

The deployment during the Keen Sword joint exercise moves the system closer to Taiwan than during the Resolute Dragon joint drills in September last year. Then, NMESIS was stationed on Okinawa’s Ishigaki Island – roughly 127km east of Yonaguni and about 240km from Taiwan.