Japan to deploy troops near disputed islands

China also claims the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which it calls the Diaoyu islands.

A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-3C Orion surveillance plane flies over the disputed islands in the East China Sea, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China in this 2011 file photo. Japan plans to deploy about 500 ground troops on the islands beginning in 2019

Japan’s Deputy Defence Minister has met with the mayor of a southern island to seek his support for a planned deployment of hundreds of troops to bolster defense in the region including nearby disputed East China Sea islands.

Officials say Vice-Minister of Defence Kenji Wakamiya was in Ishigaki on Thursday to explain to Mayor Yoshitaka Nakayama a plan to deploy about 500 ground troops on the island beginning in 2019. The troops would belong to units for emergency response in case of infiltration on nearby islands or for missile defence.

Ishigaki has jurisdiction over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyu islands.

Defence-readiness stepped up

Japan has stepped up defence readiness amid a Chinese military build-up and its aggressive patrols near the disputed islands.