TOKYO, (BM) – An island border guard force was created by Okinawa Prefecture Police to protect the disputed islands in the East China Sea, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing Japanese The Asahi Shimbun.

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The new unit included more than one and a half hundred police officers, including forty people from the Tokyo police. The new unit is headed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Okinawa, appointed by the Japan National Police Agency.

At any given time, a group of several dozen armed people can be promptly sent to the place of unlawful, in their opinion, landing. In addition to this group, the police constantly patrol the coast guard vessels in the area near the disputed Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu Dao in China.

At the moment, the delivery of the group to the disputed islands by helicopter will require an intermediate stop for refueling. It is expected that in a year the unit will have a large helicopter capable of delivering a response team on both sides without unnecessary stops.

Recall that the conflict with China over the disputed islands is being waged after the United States returned to Okinawa Prefecture along with the archipelago under Japanese control. There may be oil and gas deposits in the area around the islands. Activists from different sides periodically land on the islands, and military exercises are also held.

At the moment, in fact, the islands are controlled by Japanese authorities, renting the islands from private owners. After trying to buy them back in 2012, the conflict received a new round of aggravation.

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In both countries there are movements for the return of the islands. Japan’s coast guard regularly records the appearance of Chinese ships in the archipelago. In late March 2020, Japan deployed anti-ship missiles and an air defense system in Okinawa Prefecture to strengthen protection.

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BulgarianMilitary.com

Editorial team