Tokyo Sets Up Military Base South of Islands Claimed by Japan, China
09:17 28.03.2016(updated 09:59 28.03.2016)
On Monday, Japan set up a self-defense force post in Okinawa, some 93.2 miles south of an island chain which is claimed by both it and China.
TOKYO (Sputnik) – According to Kyodo News Agency, the Yonaguni Island post consists of about 160 troops. Their specific duties will include monitoring the sea and surrounding airspace in the area close to the disputed Senkaku Islands. In addition, experts will serve at a radar station located on the island.
Chinese-Japanese political tension escalated in 2012 over an intensified territorial dispute, when the Japanese government nationalized control over three of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, claimed by China. The islands are part of Japan's Okinawa Prefecture.
In 2014, Japan and China agreed to reduce tensions over the disputed islands. However, Chinese vessels repeatedly intruded Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in 2015.
© Sputnik
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
