ELECTRONIC
The PRC’s Global Times newspaper, a Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, went further. It called for a “final solution to the Taiwan question”. The rhetoric did little to cool tensions which have continued to increase. Towards the end of 2021 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military aircraft ramped up their flights in Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ). Sino-Japanese relations have experienced bouts of tension since the end of the Second World War. Nonetheless, the global COVID-19 pandemic has seen relations improve. Local Japanese news sources documented the mutual assistance provided by the two countries. In 2020, the PRC donated 12,500 COVID-19 testing kits to Japan. Japanese companies donated over $6 million to the PRC, along with over three million face masks, to help China’s fight the disease. Japan finds herself in a delicate situation regarding the PRC and Taiwan. On the one hand Beijing is ratcheting up the rhetoric regarding the island while on the other current relations between Japan and the PRC appear smooth. Still, moving an EW unit to Yonaguni maybe a prudent move. There is the danger that the PRC could succeed in occupying Taiwan and incorporating the island into China. The Okinawa archipelago would be adjacent to what would then probably be a large PLA presence on Taiwan. This could potentially threaten the rest of the Japan. Deploying an EW unit to Yonaguni is almost certainly meant to have a deterrent effect warning the PRC not to venture any further into Japanese territory should the unthinkable happen. Could the EW unit aid the Republic of China’s armed force during a crisis? Possibly, but it would risk Japan being dragged into the mess. For now, it seems safe to assume that the unit is in Yonaguni chiefly for deterrence.
Standing Up EW Alongside the deployment of the unit to Yonaguni, new EW assets are being raised to support other JGSDF commands. In June 2020, AMR’s sister publication Armada International reported that the JGSDF was planning to deploy an EW unit to Kyushu Island in the southwest of Japan’s Northeastern Honshu Arc. Local news reports in early 2021 confirmed that this new companysized unit had been activated at Camp Kengun. It is the first of seven of planned new JGSDF EW companies each of
Japaninfo
warfare
The Island of Yonaguni is just miles away from Taiwan and is the last island in the Ryukyu island chain.
around 80 personnel. This first unit at Camp Kengun has been designated the 301st EW Company. It will provide EW support to the JGSDF’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB). Part of the Western Army, the ARDB has two amphibious regiments, a single amphibious assault battalion, one reconnaissance company and one logistics battalion. This formation would be tasked with recapturing Japanese islands occupied during hostilities. A further six EW companies are planned for activation between April 2021 and March 2022. No details appear to have been shared with the public domain regarding which JGSDF formations these will furnish. By cross-referencing the locations of these new units, one can anticipate which formations they maybe deployed with. For example, an EW company will be deployed at Camp Rumoi on the west of Hokkaido Island. This will likely be deployed with the Northern Army. It could provide EW support to the 2nd and 7th Divisions, and 5th and 11th Brigades. An EW company will be activated at Camp Asaka, Tokyo. This could have the Eastern Army as a parent and provide EW support to the 1st Division and 12th Air Assault Brigade. It seems that the Western Army may receive the lion’s share of the new EW companies. One will be deployed to Camp Ainoura on the west of Kyushu Island possibly providing EW support to the 8th Division. An additional company could be deployed to Camp Amami on AmamiOshima Island in the northeast of the Okinawa Archipelago. This unit will be joined by another two at Camp Naha and
| december 2021/january 2022 |
