KEELUNG, TAIWAN ¨C A new ferry service to serve booming tourism between Taiwan and Japan began on Thursday on a ship that could be pressed into service to evacuate ?people on southern Japanese islands in the event of a war ?in the ?region.

The Yaima Maru is one of the ships that ?Japan¡¯s government this year put on a list of vessels to be used to evacuate island residents to mainland Japan in case of a crisis.

China, ?which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up its military pressure ?against Taipei over the past five years, including holding war games covering areas that have been close to Japanese waters. For now, ?the ship will be linking ?Taiwan¡¯s northern port city of Keelung with Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, shuttling tourists back and forth once a week ?on an overnight journey.

¡°This regular route is not merely transportation infrastructure,¡± ?Ishigaki ?Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama said at Keelung port. ¡°It serves as a new bridge that supports tourism, logistics, economic activity, cultural exchange, and education.¡±

The U.S. has major military bases in Okinawa and Japan ?has been strengthening its defenses in the area, including on Yonaguni, the Japanese island that sits closest to Taiwan.

Tatsuya Ohama, president of Shosen Yaima, the company that runs the ferry service, declined to directly answer questions about regional tensions.

¡°This is fundamentally a matter between ?countries. ?As a private ferry operator, our first step is to ?get the service up and running,¡± he told reporters.

Japan ruled Taiwan as a ?colony from 1895 to 1945 and the two have very close economic and trade relations despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties. China has been angered by stepped-up support from Tokyo for Taipei.

In November, Prime Minister ?Sanae Takaichi said a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo. That infuriated Beijing and triggered a deterioration in ties.

Taiwan¡¯s government rejects Beijing¡¯s sovereignty claims.