The first joint US-Japan operational plan for a crisis in Taiwan could include the deployment of US missile units to the Nansei Islands in southern Japan and the Philippines, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper reported. Japan's Nansei Outlying Islands are the closest to Taiwan.
A joint US-Japan operational plan for a crisis in Taiwan should be developed by the two countries' militaries by mid-December. Citing sources, the publication reports that from Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan to the southwestern Nansei Islands of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, the United States can deploy the so-called “coastal (littoral) Marine Regiment” (Marine Littoral Regiment, MLR) - a new type Marine Corps units focused on military operations in the Indo-Pacific region - equipped with HIMARS missiles. The Japan Self-Defense Forces will provide logistical support.
The Philippines will host a so-called “Multidomain Task Force” (MDTF), synchronizing infantry actions with such elements of military operations as drones, cyber security, and electronic warfare. This group will include a missile unit. Last February, the United States and the Philippines agreed to increase by four the number of bases the US military can use, bringing the total number of such bases to nine.
In the event of a crisis, it is possible to create a "first row of islands" - a network of rockets that will link the Nansei Islands and the Philippines. This will allow Chinese ships to be contained from two directions. An aircraft carrier can then be sent to the area to create a naval advantage. In February of this year, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the US Armed Forces "Keen Edge" exercises took place with the participation of Australia. They were a computer simulation in the event of an emergency in Taiwan and were dedicated to improving the interaction of units of the participating countries, practicing the practical actions of the command and control system in a “dynamic scenario”, and also tested the operation of communication systems in various geographical areas of the region.
The situation around Taiwan escalated significantly after the visit of then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to the island in early August 2022. China, which considers the island one of its provinces, condemned Pelosi's visit, seeing in this step US support for Taiwanese separatism, and held large-scale military exercises.
