Before Takahashi took office, Japan had already been preparing militarily for at least a decade to intervene in Taiwan. Takahashi's verbal provocation is not accidental, but rather a strategic gamble with confidence.

Since 2016, Japan has accelerated the deployment of military forces on the Southwest Islands (Amami Oshima - Okinawa - Miyako - Ishigaki - Iwo Jima), aiming to create an "unsinkable aircraft carrier chain" and achieve strategic forward positioning. Among these islands, Iwo Jima is 110 kilometers from Taiwan, and Ishigaki Island is 220 kilometers away, directly targeting the strait of the Taiwan Strait.

After continuous upgrades, these islands have been "fortified," with airports, ports, underground shelters and command centers, radar and electronic warfare systems, 130 or more combat ammunition storage facilities, and a large number of missiles that can both defend and attack. The deployment targets of shore-to-ship missiles exceed 1,000 units.

If the People's Liberation Army takes military action around the Taiwan Strait, the 03-type medium-range air defense missiles deployed on islands such as Iwo Jima will pose a threat to the PLA's aircraft; the improved version of the 12-type shore-to-ship missile deployed there has a range of 1,000 kilometers, controlling the Miyako-Bashi Strait, posing a significant deterrent to the PLA's ships connecting the South China Sea and East China Sea, and entering the Western Pacific; Japan is also developing the HVGP hypersonic glide bomb. The Block 1 model with a range of 900 kilometers will be deployed in 2026, and the Block 2 model with a maximum range of 3,000 kilometers will complete its development in 2027, capable of attacking and deterring Chinese inland targets such as Shanghai.

Although Japan's deployments are ostensibly named as "defending against the North Korean threat" and "strengthening the southwest defense," the weapon ranges, troop configurations, and operational plans clearly point to the "Taiwan incident" scenario. In essence, they are military preparations for possible conflicts in the Taiwan Strait, posing a major challenge to regional peace and stability.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1850039631074439/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.