They will be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations.
A US Marine regiment which possesses the multiple-launch HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) would be deployed along Japan's Nansei island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said.
From an early stage, if a Taiwan contingency becomes highly imminent, temporary bases will be set up on inhabited islands based on US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations, the report added.
Japan's military is expected to mainly engage in logistical support for the marine unit, including supplying fuel and ammunition, it said.
Kyodo added that the US Army would deploy Multi-Domain Task Force long-range fire units in the Philippines.
The Japanese and Philippines defence ministries were not immediately available for comment.
The US embassy in Manila declined to comment.
Asked about the report on Monday, Beijing's foreign ministry said that Taiwan is an "inalienable part of China's territory".
"China firmly opposes relevant countries using the Taiwan issue as an excuse to strengthen regional military deployment, provoke tension and confrontation, and damage regional peace and stability," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
China is building up its military capacity while ramping up pressure on self-governed Taiwan.
Washington has been strengthening alliances in the region, while infuriating Beijing with regular deployments of ships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
US senator critical of China visits Taiwan
Taipei (AFP) Nov 25, 2024 -
A US lawmaker, who has been critical of China, arrived in Taiwan on Monday for talks with the island's senior leaders, Washington's de facto embassy in Taipei said.
Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley has spoken out against China's human rights record, including Beijing's treatment of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Merkley's trip to Taiwan was "part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region", the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement.
"The Senator will meet with senior Taiwan leaders and other counterparts to discuss US-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and other significant issues of mutual interest," it said.
Merkley will stay in Taiwan until November 27, the AIT said, without providing further details.
The United States is Taiwan's most important backer and biggest supplier of weapons, but like most other countries it does not have official diplomatic relations with the island.
Visits to Taiwan by foreign politicians often elicit an angry response from China, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its own territory and bristles at any attempt to offer Taipei international legitimacy.
Merkley's trip comes as Republican President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
Taipei has publicly congratulated Trump on his victory, joining other governments around the world in trying to get onside with the mercurial magnate, whose diplomatic style is often transactional.
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