YOU CAN SEE TAIWAN FROM JAPAN'S YONAGUNI ISLAND BUT THE INHABITANTS AREN'T WORRIED........

JAPAN HOWEVER HAS BUILT A JSDF RADAR STATION THERE AND FOR GOOD REASON

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 Japan's westernmost permanently  inhabited territory is the island of Yonaguni. The population is approximately 1500. Thanks to the Dragon's ceaseless efforts to steal Japanese sovereign territory that population is about to increase. In the last twenty four months the island received a military radar base and 100 resident members of Japan's Self Defense Forces. This is a substantial increase in security since for decades the islands sole security forces consisted of two police officers. The island is situated about two thousand miles southwest from Tokyo and a virtual stone's throw from Taiwan. The population had been slowly shrinking and the median household income is below the typical Japanese median. So one would think the population would be rather in favor a standing presence of the JSDF both because of their proximity to a potential enemy who has displayed aggressive behavior, and for the economic boost it represents by adding a 100 member payroll to the island economy.

  Japan's westernmost point monument on Yonaguni (PD)

Instead, the local vote on accepting and cooperating with the installation passed by only a 50 vote margin. The ground breaking ceremony for the radar installation drew 250 local protesters. There is a large segment of the population that seems to view proximity to Taiwan as a plus rather than a potential danger. That segment wants to boost tourism from Taiwan. We can only suppose that Taiwan has not made claims on this long inhabited island as they have done relative to other nearby uninhabited islands. Mainland China supports most claims by Taiwan to uninhabited islands in the region since China claims Taiwan is actually a province of China. Taiwan doesn't agree with the Dragon's assessment of their independence but doesn't refuse the support either. We think that the desire for trade with Taiwan on Japanese Yonaguni amounts to something of a support for our contention that effective settlement is the one undisputed and internationally accepted claim to territory. We think neither China nor Taiwan has made a move on Yonaguni simply because it is permanently inhabited by the Japanese and has been since sometime in the twelfth century and was formally incorporated into modern Japan in 1879. There isn't even an arguable claim that Taiwan or China could make on the island. The locals seem pretty confident since they can actually see Taiwan from their shore on an exceptionally clear day, they want trade with Taiwan to increase locally. Everyone admits that since the radar station started construction, trade and visitors from Taiwan has fallen off ,

Photo:  Snap55 at Japanese Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.  The town of Sonai on Yonaguni

 The radar station poses no threat to Taiwan or China and certainly the 100 Japanese military personnel, mostly technicians are hardly even a credible defense of the island much less a threat off the island. But China and Taiwan hate the radar installation because it is used to monitor the trespasses into Japanese territorial waters and activities legal and illegal in their exclusive economic zone, the dragon's real target. Yonaguni is part of the prefecture of Okinawa, home of a large U.S. and JSDF presence. Only 50 more locals believe than disbelieve that their island should be used to tighten border control. A sizable minority want the island to be a bridge to Taiwan and China. We think the radar station is necessary at this time, but agree the record of Okinawa doesn't support a view that a military presence assures economic prosperity. But the confidence of the people of Yonaguni that they are not the targets of illegal occupation and annexation illustrates the depth of acceptance of effective settlement as the single most definitive rule of soverignity.

Yonaguni is a major scuba diving destination due to the clear water conditions, abundant marine life and the existence of mysterious underwater ruins. Photo by  http://wikitravel.org/en/User:Jpatokalreleased in wikitravel under GFDL and cc-by-sa on 31. May 2005,   GNU Free Documentation License .....In case you were wondering why anyone in Taiwan would want to visit. Oh yeah........ it also has beautiful beaches and a tropical climate.

We first posted on this develompent in 2014. THis post is simply a past tense update of the post we published when construction on the radar station bagan in 2014. Since completetion a lot has happened. The DIPLOMAT has published a comprehensive update on the facility and island. In their on line article they note :

"The principal objective of the new permanent intelligence gathering post is to improve Japan’s air and maritime domain awareness around the Nansei (aka Ryukyu) island chain and to provide an early warning system in the event of conflict. Yonaguni Island is located near the edge of an air defense identification zone that China set up unilaterally in 2013.

The new surveillance station will be capable of monitoring Chinese activities in the East China Sea and also able to intercept high-frequency communications in mainland China, Russia, North Korea, and the South China Sea.

Japan currently operates some 18 major permanent listening posts throughout its territory. These radiowave interception facilities are capable of capturing very high frequency and ultra-high frequency bands at closer range and can intercept high frequency transmissions for up to 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles) in all directions. Every listening post is integrated with Japan’s air and missile defense radar stations.

READ MORE IN THE DIPLOMAT  (https://thediplomat.com/2016/03/new-radar-facility-japan-expands-military-presence-in-east-china-sea/ )