The Japanese Ministry of Defense has decided to expand the "Land and Water Mobile Regiment" to "prevent China" by land and water | Task | Ministry of Defense
According to the Daily News of Japan on June 23, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has decided to expand the Ground Self Defense Force's "Water and Land Mobile Regiment" to serve as a defense mission for outlying islands. Starting in the spring of 2024, some of the main forces will be stationed at sea and on outlying islands. In order to prevent China, Japan will strengthen its security around the southwestern islands to respond to emergency situations. Experts are concerned that having troops stationed in the East China Sea may exacerbate tensions between Japan and China.
According to reports, the Water and Land Mobility Regiment was established in March 2018, with its base located at the residence of Sagura in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture. As a direct subordinate unit of the Ground Self Defense Force, its main task is to recapture the occupied outlying islands. Someone compared it to the United States Marine Corps responsible for island landing operations, calling it the "Japanese version of the Marine Corps.".
It is revealed that the water and land mobile regiment has about 2400 personnel, and the main force of the troops is two water and land mobile battalions with a size of about 600 people, stationed at the base of Sagura. In March 2024, the Takematsu base in Omura City, Nagasaki Prefecture will establish a new platoon of the same size. This will bring the total size of the water and land mobile regiment, including the troops responsible for communication, rear support, and other tasks, to around 3000 people.
Because there are currently only two main squadrons, the key task is daily training. If the number of platoons increases to three, it can enable rotation between the training platoon, the standby platoon at the base, and the emergency platoon deployed at sea. The maritime emergency force will be deployed in the East China Sea, where Chinese military activities are frequent.
Once such an event occurs, Japan will dispatch land and water mobile missions in the early stages to respond.
Military commentator Tetsuo Maeda, who has long been engaged in research related to the US military and Self Defense Forces stationed in Japan, believes that expanding the Marine Corps is a part of strengthening cooperation with the US Marine Corps, and the integration between Japan and the US has reached an unprecedented level. But he also pointed out that if troops were to be stationed in the East China Sea, it would exacerbate tensions with China, and such operations may contradict Japan's constitutional policy of "exclusive defense".