JAPAN has purchased an uninhabited island off its southern coast to hold war drills with the US amid growing tensions with China.
Mageshima Island is an 8.2sq km black of land in the East China Sea, and is intended as the site of a new military base.
It was purchased for 16 billion yen (£113 milion) from Tokyo-based development company Taston Airport.
The island previously hosted an important airfield for the Japanese military in the closing stages of the Second World War.
The purchase follows pressure from Washington to Tokyo to find a location for US aircraft carriers and their fighter jets to carry out military drills, and is unlikely to improve relations with Beijing.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: “It’s important to secure the site for field carrier landing practice from the viewpoint of security so we will continue to try to build a permanent facility at an early date.”
Diplomatic relations between Japan and China have improved in recent years, but continue to be strained by China’s growing military might and its territorial claims to the waters surrounding it.
The East China Sea is a disputed region situated in the middle of China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which is believed to hold valuable natural resources.
In 1995, China discovered an undersea natural gas field in the region, which the disputing countries believe could connect to other natural resources.
The South China Sea similarly sees competing island and maritime claims by China, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
One third of all annual global maritime trade and 40 percent of China’s total trade passes through the sea, making it an important strategic thoroughfare.
Recent years have seen Chinese vessels repeatedly sailing through disputed waters, inflaming tensions with both Japan and the US.
In June this year, an armed Chinese aircraft carrier sailed between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako in the East China Sea.
While it did not enter Japanese waters, it was seen as an act of aggression on Beijing’s part.
China has also been building military bases on a chain of islands in disputed waters.
State media agencies in China have not directly attacked the purchase of Mageshima, though did claim that the decision to build a military base their had been met with “staunch criticism” by residents of the neighbouring Tanegashima Island, controlled by Japan.
A version of this story originally appeared on News.com.au.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
