Russia will this year deploy some of its newest missile defense systems and drones on the Kurile islands where Moscow and Tokyo have rival territorial claims, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday. - Reuters
Japan just opened a radar facility on Yonaguni island in the East China Sea near Taiwan, Reuters reports. The facility is close to a set of disputed islands claimed by both Japan and China (labeled Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China). The station would provide Japan with a clearer picture of activity in the region and is likely intended to help keep an eye on Chinese military activity. The move is likely to annoy China, which the U.S. and Japan have criticized for "militarizing" the South China Sea by deploying anti-ship missiles, fighter jets, air defense systems, and advanced radars to a series of disputed islands in the South China Sea.