Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi garnered attention this past weekend when he visited Yonaguni ¡ª Japan¡¯s southwesternmost island that happens to be about 110 kilometers away from Taiwan.
There, he affirmed the Defense Ministry¡¯s intent to deploy Chu-SAMs (medium range surface-to-air missiles) to the island amid worsening security conditions in the region.
The visit drew immediate rebuke from China, which claimed that Japan is fueling confrontation in Northeast Asia. However, this was merely another overreaction consistent with the Chinese behavior of the past few weeks and it belies the actual nature and purpose of Koizumi¡¯s visit. In reality, his trip proved both significant and insignificant for vastly different reasons.
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