Japan will station surface to air missile systems on its far southwestern island of Yonaguni by March 2031, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi confirmed from Tokyo, as frictions in the East Asian region continue to build, the BBC reports.

The Japanese government first revealed plans to place missiles on Yonaguni in 2022, although there has been talk in military circles in Tokyo of boosting defence infrastructure in the wider Okinawa prefecture around Yonaguni, since at least 2005. This is, however, the first occasion it has set out a clear schedule for when the actual deployment will take place.

It is a move that will not go down well in China. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory despite never having ruled the island in modern times, and has not excluded the possibility of using force to assert control. Yonaguni lies just 110 kilometres east of Taiwan and, in clear weather, the island is visible from Yilan County in the east. Its proximity thus places Yonaguni at a strategically sensitive location.

Relations between Tokyo and Beijing meanwhile, have been tense since November, when (then) new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated in parliament that Japan might resort to using its self-defence forces if Taiwan faced an attack, deeming an attack on the self-governing nation of 24mn, a potential danger to Japan. Takaichi's remarks at the time caused bilateral relations to reach their lowest level in years.

Since then, China has stepped up pressure on several fronts. These measures have included sending naval vessels into waters off Japan, curbing rare earth exports, and restricting Chinese tourism to Japan as well as cancelling cultural performances and withdrawing its giant pandas from Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

According to the BBC, Koizumi outlined the missile timetable on February 24, one day after China introduced its latest round of export restrictions targeting 20 Japanese companies and organisations on supposed national security grounds - a move Japan has objected to through diplomatic channels. He said the Yonaguni unit would field medium range surface to air missiles designed to intercept hostile aircraft and incoming missiles.

An electronic warfare unit designed to interfere with enemy communication and radar systems is already planned for the current fiscal year and Koizumi has said that although the missile deployment is now scheduled for FY2030, the timeline may change based on the progress of facility upgrades.

China has yet to respond but it is expected, increased economic threats from Beijing along with efforts by Communist Pary elites to once again bring up Japanese actions in WWII will follow.