China has been militarizing islands in the South China Sea for more than ten years at this point. They’ve dredged sand in order to turn tiny spots in the ocean into military bases. All of this was clearly part of Xi Jinping’s effort to claim the entire South China Sea for China and to move toward “reunification” with Taiwan, which in practice means threats and an invasion if Taiwan refuses.
Not surprisingly, China absolutely flipped out when Japan’s new Prime Minister warned that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be viewed as a threat requiring a military response by Japan. Why would Japan say this? Well, because the chain of Japanese islands stretches from Hokkaido in the north to Yonaguni Island in the south. In fact, Yonaguni Island is closer to Taiwan than China is.
NEW: Japan will deploy medium-range missiles to Yonaguni Island, just 110 km from Taiwan, as part of a broader military buildup aimed at deterring China.
Source: Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/nK1z3W3HjA
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 23, 2025
So if China starts firing missiles or surrounding the island with military ships, that necessarily puts the conflict in very close proximity to Japanese territory. That was followed with a decision to deploy short range missiles to Yonaguni Island for defense. And not just missiles. Japan is also adding more soldiers and building up military capabilities of many other islands close to China.
Up and down the 160-strong Ryukyu island chain, Japan is quickly putting in place missile batteries, radar towers, ammunition storage sites and other combat facilities. It’s also beginning to deploy major military assets on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, including F-35 fighter jets and long-range missiles, as well as expanding its version of the US Marine Corps, known as the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade…
“China’s People’s Liberation Army is undoubtedly building up its ability to force Taiwan into submission,” said Koichi Isobe, a former lieutenant general in Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force. “Japan, the United States, and other Western countries must show China their strong resolve to oppose any actions that seek to change the status quo.”
A subtropical island known mostly for endangered wild horses and dive spots with hammerhead sharks, Yonaguni is now seeing new apartment buildings sprouting up to house troops for a military base established in 2016. Over the next year, some 30 staff will join the nearly 230 already on site to accommodate an electronic warfare division, and more are expected to follow with the planned deployment of anti-air missiles.
China has spent the past four years pushing and bullying its neighbors and now the neighbors are pushing back. Over the weekend, China escalated once again by painting some Japanese F-15s with radar.
Japan has protested after Chinese fighter jets locked radars on Japanese aircraft as tensions between the two nations worsened.
Locking radar onto an aircraft is considered a threat because it can signal a potential attack. Japan said there were two such incidents Saturday off its southern Okinawa islands.
Japan said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the Chinese J-15 fighter jets, while Beijing accused Tokyo of “harassing” its forces during a training exercise. No injuries or damage were reported…
A Japanese defence ministry official said the intention of the Chinese J-15 jets was “unclear”, but added that there was “no need” to lock on to the Japanese planes if their intention was to locate other aircraft.
So China takes an aggressive action by painting Japanese jets with radar and then runs and complains that Japan is threatening China.
Japan is threatening China militarily which is “completely unacceptable”, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart, after Japan said that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft…
Speaking during a meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Beijing on Monday, Wang said that given this year is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, Japan, “as a defeated nation”, should have acted with greater caution.
“Yet now, its current leader is trying to exploit the Taiwan question – the very territory Japan colonised for half a century, committing countless crimes against the Chinese people – to provoke trouble and threaten China militarily. This is completely unacceptable,” Wang said, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.
The phrase ‘crybullies’ comes to mind. China is going to keep whining about being a victim right up until the moment they launch a military invasion and attempt to seize the world’s supply of advanced computer chips. At that point communist autocrats will be substantially in control of the entire world’s tech economy.
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