Because of the constantly increasing activity of the Chinese navy in the disputed waters of the China Sea, the Japanese government intends to deploy Type 12 anti-ship missile batteries on Okinawa.

Type 12 anti-ship missile (Picture source: Wikipedia)

Japan already plans to send missiles to Okinawa Prefecture's Miyako Island. Now, lawmakers believe the main island should also have a missile battery. Miyako Island is located about 290 km southwest of the main island of Okinawa.

The Type 12 surface-to-ship missile (12式地対艦誘導弾) is a truck-mounted anti-ship missile developed by Japan's Mitsubishi’ Heavy Industries in 2012. It is an upgrade of the Type 88 Surface-to-Ship missile. The Type 12 features INS with mid-course GPS guidance and better precision due to enhanced Terrain Countour Matching and target discrimination capabilities. The weapon is networked, where initial and mid-course targeting can be provided by other platforms, and also boasts shorter reload times, reduced lifecycle costs, and a range of 108 nautical miles (200 km).