Japan and the U.S. aim to compile a joint military plan for a possible Taiwan emergency that includes deploying missiles, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
Under the plan expected to be completed next month, the U.S. would deploy missile units to the Nansei Islands in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, as well as the Philippines, the report said, citing unnamed U.S. and Japanese sources.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ Marine Littoral Regiment, which has High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other weapons, will be deployed to the Nansei Islands, Kyodo said.
A U.S. unit dealing with space, cyberspace and electromagnetic waves will be stationed in the Philippines, the report said.
Calls to the Japanese Defense Ministry, as well as the U.S. and Philippine embassies were not answered on Sunday.