According to reference sources, the US and Japanese foreign ministers and defense ministers held a meeting of the "Security and Security Consultative Committee" (2 + 2) just after the end of the meeting, Japan and the United States began to stockpile ammunition in relevant areas of Japan and on the islands surrounding Taiwan, and according to the analysis of some historical documents between Japan and the United States, the deployed ammunition will not rule out being a nuclear bomb.
According to Japanese media, in the future, Japan and the United States will further promote the joint use of self-defense forces and US military facilities in the region and provide assistance for THE US military's ammunition reserves. The ammunition stockpiled by the US military is mainly "cutting-edge" missiles, including long-range anti-ship missiles, anti-radiation missiles, and joint defense and out-of-zone missiles, etc., and the main purpose of this move is to cope with the increasingly strong military unification intentions of the Chinese mainland. The US-Japan move is a vain attempt to assist Taiwan through force, obstruct cross-strait reunification, continue to "use Taiwan to control China," and at the same time push Sino-US competition to Sino-US confrontation.
- In order to "do things," the US military will not hesitate to pay any price
In fact, as the U.S. government has targeted the Indo-Pacific region for three consecutive terms, the U.S. military's military deployment around China has set a record, according to the U.S. Naval Research Association website released on January 10, four aircraft carriers are currently deploying globally, and at least two of them are in the waters around China, including the "Ronald Reagan" docked in Yokohama, Japan, and the "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier that entered the South China Sea through the Barabak Strait on the morning of January 11, at the same time, The US Navy's quasi-aircraft carrier-class amphibious assault ship "Essex" and "Pearl Harbor" landing ship have also entered the South China Sea, six capital ships, four deployed around China, the US military threat has increased significantly.
However, for such a "threat" method of the US Navy, the PLA has long been strange, after all, from the perspective of coastal confrontation alone, even if the US military has a few more aircraft carriers, it is not our military's opponent. First of all, within the first island chain, the Platon Has long built a three-dimensional anti-ship network of sea, land and air, within this range, the US maritime power has limited space for exertion; secondly, the US ship does not have a strategic support point near the Taiwan Strait, once the conflict breaks out, logistics supply will inevitably have problems, especially if there is a shortage of ammunition supplies, it will directly affect the combat capability. The U.S. military is also aware of this problem, so last October, the U.S. Navy deliberately deployed the 90,000-ton "Miguel Keith" expeditionary mobile base ship to Japan, and its main task is to provide logistical support for maritime military operations.
▲The recent global deployment of the main surface ships of the US Navy
However, from the perspective of this US-Japan cooperation, the United States is still worried that its own logistics supply will become a drag, so it began to plan to use Japan's island near Taiwan for ammunition reserves, so as to facilitate logistical replenishment at the first time. This is by no means a sign of goodwill.
Not only that, if the information released by the Japanese media this time is true, it is very likely that the US military is trying to take the opportunity to deploy land-based medium-range missiles with both nuclear and conventional weapons to Japan. This is not alarmist, but it has happened in a real way. According to archives declassified by the National Archives of the United States in 2000, when the Ogasawara Islands were returned in 1968, the Japanese government acquiesced in a memorandum signed by the United States and Japan to stockpile nuclear weapons in the Ogasawara Islands in the event of an emergency. Combined with the information released by the US Department of Defense, between 1956 and 1965, the US military did deploy nuclear weapons on Iwo Jima and Parent Island, although the nuclear weapons were withdrawn later with the strategic security considerations of the United States, but with the unilateral tearing up of the INF Treaty by the United States in 2019, the re-deployment of nuclear weapons in Japan was once again on the agenda.
▲ Loma Company test-fired land-based "Tomahawk"
Sure enough, in 2020, Japan's Nikkei Shimbun disclosed that because Guam is far from the Chinese mainland, the United States has considered deploying medium-range missiles in some Asian countries, of which Japan is the first choice. At the same time, although the INF Treaty restricted the development of land-based intermediate-range weapons of the US military, in the year of the tearing up of the treaty, the US Lockheed Martin Company successfully conducted a land-based "tomahawk" test and successfully hit the intended target 500 kilometers away. The relevant equipment has basically completed the development, the United States also has a precedent for deployment, and more importantly, the Japanese side has also actively cooperated, and there is every reason to believe that the United States will take this opportunity to deploy land-based medium-range missiles in Japanese territory close to Taiwan.
Once this happens, it will have a huge impact on the mainland's home security. First of all, in this mode of deployment, the US military will achieve three-dimensional "protection" of the Taiwan Strait, land, and air, and will no longer rely solely on sea and air; second, the land-based intermediate-range missile developed by Loma Company uses a modified "Tomahawk" cruise missile, and the missile is both nuclear and conventional, and as long as necessary, the US military can completely install a thermonuclear warhead for it. The deployment of nuclear bombs on the Japanese mainland is only to "protect" Taiwan, and the United States is completely playing with fire and challenging China's bottom line.
▲The current situation of the ishigaki island base
2. Japan "Fanning the Flames" for Sino-US Relations
The relaxation of Sino-US relations cannot see Japan's figure, but the deterioration of Sino-US relations is bound to incite Japan to stir up trouble. To help the United States deal with China, Japan spent heavily on land fronts last year. In August last year, Japan's Ministry of Defense decided to deploy a missile unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force to Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture by the end of fiscal year 2022, and then Japan stepped up infrastructure construction on the island, which has begun to take shape according to photos released by the New York Times earlier this year. Combined with the design information previously released by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the island will accommodate 500-600 members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, and the base will build new barracks, training grounds, and ammunition depots.
▲Ishigaki Island has a special geographical location
According to the current progress, there is basically no problem in the delivery and use of the Ishigaki Island base before the end of this year, and if it is officially delivered and used, it will provide a new means for the United States and Japan to contain China. Judging from the location chosen by Japan alone, it is very targeted: Compared with most areas in Japan, Ishigaki Island is closer to Taiwan, only 270 kilometers, and it is only 170 kilometers away from China's Diaoyu Islands. In addition, due to its proximity to Taiwan, it is not excluded that Japan will use Ishigaki Island as an outpost to provide the United States and even Taiwan with information on the operations of the People's Liberation Army.
▲The US military has previously launched "Tomahawk" missiles
However, the biggest "threat" is that once the United States and Japan cooperate, the US military will deploy the interim missile based on Ishigaki Island. As mentioned above, at present, the main land-based intermediate missile of the US military is based on the "Tomahawk", and the maximum range of this type of missile is 2500 kilometers, and this range matches the location of Ishigaki Island, and the strike range of the US military has penetrated deep into the Chinese mainland. If combined with the sea-based and space-based "Tomahawk", it will greatly increase the interception pressure and interception difficulty of the PLA air defense system, after all, the "Tomahawk" has always been known as the most powerful out-of-zone missile in the US armory.
In addition, if the US military wants to use Ishigaki Island for missile deployment, in addition to the missile itself, it will certainly be equipped with a corresponding radar system, and combined with Japan's original intelligence network, every move of the PLA in the relevant areas will be monitored by the United States and Japan. Moreover, judging from the current development trend, once the relations in the Taiwan Strait change, the possibility of the United States and Japan providing intelligence to the Taiwan region is not ruled out. This has greatly increased the uncertainty of relations in the Taiwan Strait.
In addition, although Japan does not have the ability to possess nuclear weapons and advanced long-range anti-ship missiles at this stage, once Japan takes advantage of the opportunity of US-Japan cooperation to acquire the core technology of the US military, it will greatly enhance Japan's military strength. Judging from the new Trilateral Military Partnership (AUKUS) formed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia last year, which provided technical support to Australia for nuclear submarines, the United States has spread nuclear technology, so there is every reason to believe that the United States is driven by its own interests to provide nuclear weapons technology to Japan. Once this happens, the pattern of the entire Indo-Pacific region will also be greatly impacted.
▲Taiwan's self-developed Hsiung Wind THREE anti-ship missile
3. Taiwan hopes to use its strength to deal with the People's Liberation Army
Recently, Taiwan's legislature has just passed the so-called "Special Budget for the Procurement of the Sea and Air Combat Capability Enhancement Plan" totaling more than NT$236.9 billion, clearly proposing that it will mass-produce the Hsiung-san anti-ship missiles next year and deploy them in an all-round way on the outer islands of Taiwan and the main islands, in a vain attempt to "deter" the PLA's large surface ships.
Regardless of the actual performance of the extended-range Xiongsan, judging solely by the timing of the Taiwan side's release of information, there is reason to suspect that the Taiwan authorities are trying to use the us-Japan alliance in a vain attempt to use force to deal with the PLA. If the United States formally decides to deploy land-based intermediate missiles on Ishigaki Island, coupled with the US-Japan land-based anti-ship missiles, and the Taiwan military's extended range type Hsiung-san, it will be much more difficult for the PLA to detour the Taipei side. Assuming that a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the PLA can only bypass the southwest sea, but this move cannot effectively realize the encirclement of the entire island of Taiwan, which is not conducive to the rapid settlement of the conflict in the Taiwan Strait. If the United States and Japan jump out again at this time and use Ishigaki Island as a springboard to provide military assistance to the main island of Taiwan, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Judging from the series of actions taken by the United States at the beginning of the New Year, the attempt to contain China by force and control China with Taiwan has not been abandoned. If the US side insists on going its own way, Sino-US competition will eventually lead to Sino-US confrontation, and the United States will certainly pay a heavy price for this, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be unstoppable!