It further complicates the projection of Chinese military power into the southwestern maritime domain around Japan's Ryukyu islands.

Corey Wallace

Categorized in : World

Will it bother China? Probably, but only in so far that it further complicates the projection of Chinese military power into the southwestern maritime domain around Japan's Ryukyu islands.

Subsurface detection and reaction is a Japanese strength in both technological and operational terms, and a Chinese weakness, even if (China) quantitatively has a larger subsurface fleet.

Over time, the diversification of Japanese and American bases( individual or joint) will be a trend, the alliance would be more resilient if bases and hardware were more dispersed.

Japan does not have pilots with any experience landing fixed-wing aircraft on carriers. However, this new facility might offer the opportunity over time for Japanese to gain some familiarity with such operations alongside United States -- not only to utilize their own carriers, but for cross decking( sharing) with the United States, having Japanese F-35s on American naval vessels would be quite a signal.