US to deploy NMESIS anti-ship system on Japanese island closest to Taiwan for first time
Unprecedented deployment to Yonaguni, 110km from Taiwan, during joint drills this month comes amid high tensions between Beijing and Tokyo
The ground-based US uncrewed missile platform known as the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) will be deployed on Yonaguni Island in Japan’s Okinawa prefecture during biennial joint exercises this month, according to the regional bureau of the Japanese defence ministry.
The deployment during the Keen Sword joint exercise moves the system closer to Taiwan than during the Resolute Dragon joint drills in September last year. Then, NMESIS was stationed on Okinawa’s Ishigaki Island – roughly 127km east of Yonaguni and about 240km from Taiwan.
