US Wants to Deploy Missile-Armed Marines Along Japan’s Okinawa Islands

The US wants to deploy units of Marines armed with missiles along Japan’s Okinawa islands as part of a military buildup aimed at China, the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has reported.

The report said that the US is looking to deploy the Marines by 2026 and that Japan is already aware of the plan. It is expected to be announced on Wednesday after a meeting between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and their Japanese counterparts in Washington.

The Marines Corps is going through an overhaul to better prepare for a future war with China, and a major aspect of the revamping is to make units more mobile. The Marines in these new units will get rid of aircraft and heavy armor in favor of more portable missiles and drones.