Japan plans to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles to Okinawa Prefecture＊s Yonaguni Island 〞 just 110 kilometers east of Taiwan 〞 by fiscal 2030, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday.

※Currently, we are proceeding with necessary tasks, such as basic studies concerning facility improvements for the deployment of troops to the eastern side of the garrison,§ Koizumi told a regular news conference.

But Koizumi also added a caveat, saying that ※the timing for the deployment of the medium-range surface-to-air unit may change depending on the progress of future facility improvements, but the current plan is for fiscal year 2030.§

Koizumi confirmed that the Defense Ministry would hold a public question-and-answer session on the deployment for residents of the island on March 2.

The announcement of a timeline for the plan, which Koizumi had touched on in November during a visit to the island, comes as ties with China continue to deteriorate following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi＊s remarks last year that Japan could intervene militarily in a crisis over democratic Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as a renegade province that must be united with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The missile deployment is part of a broader defense build-up Japan is undertaking in its southwestern islands 〞 part of a response to China＊s growing military assertiveness in the area.

Last December, the Chinese military conducted its latest large-scale exercises around Taiwan, with the drills practicing blockading the island and preventing partners such as the U.S. and Japan from coming to its aid. Those drills saw scores of advanced warplanes and cutting-edge ships deployed near Yonaguni, Japan＊s westernmost island.

Beijing has lambasted Tokyo＊s moves to boost its defenses in the areas, framing it as an example of Japan＊s ※remilitarization.§

During his November visit to Yonaguni, Koizumi took issue with this characterization.

※The deployment can help lower the chance of an armed attack on our country,§ he said at the time. ※The view that it will heighten regional tensions is not accurate.§

Sino-Japanese tensions have soared in the wake of Takaichi＊s remarks in parliament that the Self-Defense Forces could be deployed under the right to collective self-defense in ※worst-case§ scenarios, such as a Chinese naval blockade of Taiwan, which the prime minister said would constitute a ※survival-threatening situation§ for Japan.

On Tuesday, China＊s Commerce Ministry blacklisted 20 Japanese entities and tightened scrutiny on a raft of other firms, the latest signal that Beijing is continuing to ramp up pressure on Tokyo even after she consolidated her position with a landslide election victory earlier this month.