Japan opens Osprey base on Kyushu as China ramps up military presence
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The first V-22 Osprey is expected to arrive at the new Camp Saga on July 9.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – The Ground Self-Defence Force (GSDF) opened a new camp in south-western Japan on July 9 to host its fleet of Osprey transport aircraft, as part of efforts to strengthen the defences of remote islands owing to fears over China’s increasing military ambitions.
The first V-22 Osprey is expected to arrive later on July 9 at the new Camp Saga, in the prefecture of the same name on the main island of Kyushu, transferring from Camp Kisarazu in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo.
The GSDF’s tilt-rotor aircraft have been temporarily based there since July 2020.
Operations at the new camp, staffed by about 420 personnel, begin as safety concerns linger following a series of Osprey accidents in Japan and abroad, including a fatal crash in 2023.
Ospreys can take off and land like helicopters but cruise like airplanes. The primary mission of the V-22 unit is to transport personnel and equipment for the GSDF’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade in the event of an emergency.
Dubbed the Japanese Marines, the brigade is based in Sasebo, Nagasaki prefecture, adjacent to Saga, and specialises in defending remote islands.
The relocation of the Ospreys reflects Tokyo’s recent focus on bolstering deterrence and response capabilities in the south-western Nansei island chain, a strategically vital area due to its proximity to the potential geopolitical flashpoint of Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
It has stepped up military pressure on the self-ruled democratic island and increased maritime assertiveness in the East and South China Seas.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba highlighted the significance of the Osprey fleet presence in Saga in a campaign speech in the city on July 9, ahead of the July 20 House of Councillors election, saying: “Japan’s safety and readiness for disaster relief will be much more enhanced.”
The GSDF plans to transfer the remaining 16 Ospreys from Chiba to Saga in several waves by mid-August, landing the aircraft on the runway of the prefecture’s main commercial airport, located next to Camp Saga.
The US military also deploys Ospreys in Japan. In November 2023, one crashed off Yakushima island in Kagoshima prefecture in south-western Japan during a routine training flight, killing all eight crew members.
On the morning of July 9, protesters rallied in front of the new Osprey camp’s main gate, carrying banners and signs to call for the “complete removal of Ospreys”.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Keiichiro Tachibana told a press conference in Tokyo that the government will “seriously listen to the locals’ voices and provide detailed explanation, including safety information”, while stressing that the need to boost the nation’s defence posture in the south-west is a “pressing task”. KYODO NEWS
