Japan's missiles have moved to the position, just 110 kilometers away from China: The PLA immediately took action, and drones directly approached face-to-face.

The Sino-Japanese diplomatic crisis triggered by Takahashi Hayato's erroneous remarks on Taiwan is still ongoing. Takahashi has so far not intended to retract her erroneous statements. In the face of increasing pressure from China, the Japanese government has emphasized its hope for continued communication with China, but at the same time, it has begun to express "firmness".

Recently, Japan's Defense Minister, Koizumi Shinjiro, visited the island of Iwo Jima, which is the closest to both Taiwan and mainland China in the Ryukyu Islands, and publicly stated that the preparations for deploying intermediate-range ground-to-air missiles there are "progressing steadily".

(Koizumi Shinjiro visiting Iwo Jima)

This is the first time in Japanese history that the country has openly claimed to deploy missiles near Chinese territory, indicating its determination to show a "firm" stance against China.

China immediately responded with concrete actions: According to an announcement from the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Joint Staff, on November 25, a PLA drone was found flying from the airspace between Iwo Jima and Taiwan towards the Western Pacific, basically following the coastline of eastern Taiwan, then moving southeast into the Philippine Sea for reconnaissance, and finally returning along the same route.

To the embarrassment of Japanese netizens, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and Maritime Self-Defense Force, who are "known as" the official photographers of the PLA's ships and aircraft, did not send planes this time to conduct reconnaissance, so the Japanese Ministry of Defense did not know the model of the drone, and its flight path was "assumed", i.e., drawn based on radar detection results. It should be noted that radar is very susceptible to electronic warfare interference, and such "assumptions" are unreliable.

(The latest PLA operation released by Japan)

This reflects two embarrassing realities for Japan: First, the main fighter jets of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (mainly F-15J) are aging, and their limited service life is almost over. The Japanese side is very unwilling to use up these precious service lives on PLA drones, and even more unwilling to use valuable F-35s for interception. Therefore, the number of times Japan has conducted close-range reconnaissance of PLA drones has been decreasing in recent years.

The other reason is more embarrassing. If the PLA sends a medium-altitude long-endurance drone (such as BZK-005), the F-15J can at least fly to the same altitude for surveillance. However, if the PLA sends a high-altitude long-endurance drone (such as Wuzheng-7), the F-15J cannot reach the same altitude, making it difficult to take photos to confirm the model.

The Iwo Jima Island originally had the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's J/TPS-102 mobile three-dimensional radar system. Although this radar can monitor air space as far as the coastal areas of Fujian Province in China, its detection effect on small targets such as drones is poor.

Therefore, in July this year, the U.S. Marine Corps deployed the AN/TPS-80 radar system to Iwo Jima Island to enhance the detection of missiles, drones, and other targets. However, the detection range of this radar is relatively short and does not reach the air space near the coast of Fujian Province.

(The PLA Navy's actions in early July this year)

In fact, the PLA's ships and aircraft passing through the sea area and airspace between Iwo Jima and Taiwan have become a routine action, maintaining a frequency of 1 to 2 times per month. Since the beginning of this year, the reports from Japan about PLA drones flying through this route have all lacked photographs, and the flight paths were all "assumed".

What caught Japan's attention was that on July 2nd, two 054A frigates, the Nantong (533) and Xuzhou (530), passed through this sensitive sea area southward into the Western Pacific, and then returned northward through the Miyako Strait into the East China Sea on July 6th. The date selection might not be a coincidence. Just one day before the anniversary of the July 7th Incident. This shows that our military is using daily patrols and training to strike Japan.

(Iwo Jima is less than 350 kilometers away from Pingtan Island in Fujian Province)

American military media, when commenting on Japan's deployment of air defense missiles on Iwo Jima, pointed out that as relations between Japan and China become more tense, Japan may also deploy anti-ship missiles and other weapons on Iwo Jima.

Currently, Japan has already deployed the 12-type anti-ship missile on Ishigaki Island, which is more than 110 kilometers east of Iwo Jima. However, we can also predict that in the future, the PLA's activities around Iwo Jima will most likely increase, giving them some intensity.

To be honest, the PLA is not too worried about Iwo Jima being turned into a "fortress" by Japan and the U.S., which could pose a major threat to us.

The reason is that Iwo Jima is too close to the mainland China: the distance to Pingtan Island in Fujian Province is less than 350 kilometers. The PLA has countless weapons that can be used to attack Iwo Jima, and even if launched from the mainland and within its own airspace, they are sufficient to cover the island. We can not only attack the island, but also do it cheaply.

(The PHL-191 box-type rocket launcher of the PLA can cover Iwo Jima from Pingtan Island using 750mm guided rockets)

For example, suicide drones like Iran's Shahed-136 can be mass-produced at a lower cost by China, which Japan would be unable to defend against. In addition, the PHL-191 box-type rocket launcher equipped by the PLA Army, when using 750mm rockets, can cover Iwo Jima from Pingtan Island. Even armed helicopters taking off from the coasts of Fucheng and Changle can cover Iwo Jima with their operational radius.

With these conventional equipment alone, the problem can be well addressed, let alone the stealthy attack aircraft such as the J-11.

The current crisis triggered by Takahashi Hayato's remarks has completely exposed the long-standing ambitions of right-wing politicians in Japan, which they have avoided discussing but have always desired. We expect that even if Takahashi retracts her erroneous remarks, or even resigns because of it, China will not relax its military pressure on Japan. The PLA's routine crossing of Japan's island chain will become increasingly frequent.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7577265013631599139/

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