Jun 09, 2026

The Japanese Defense Ministry on Monday began transporting a missile launcher and other equipment to Minamitorishima, the country's easternmost island in the Pacific, ahead of plans to build a missile firing range and conduct live-fire exercises there, NHK reported. Chinese military affairs experts warned that Japan's deployment of Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles on Minamitorishima would pose threat to regional security.

According to NHK, the Japanese Defense Ministry began shipping a Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) Type 12 surface-to-ship missile launcher, along with medium-sized unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for target surveillance and positioning, by ferry from a port in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, to the island on Monday morning.

This marks Japan's first deployment of GSDF surface-to-ship missiles to Minamitorishima, which belongs to Tokyo's Ogasawara Islands, according to the NHK.

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202606/1363146.shtml