US military, Japan's forces prepare draft operation plan for Taiwan contingency: Reports

A draft plan has been drawn up by the US military and Japan's Self Defence Forces to enable the setup of an attack base along the Nansei island chain in Japan's southwest in the event of a Taiwan contingency, reported Kyodo News citing sources.

Tokyo and Washington will likely agree to begin work to formalize an operation plan when their foreign and defence chiefs meet in early January under the "two-plus-two" framework, said Kyodo News.

The move is likely to hit Beijing as it sees Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

US Marines, under this draft plan, will set up a temporary attack base at the initial stage of a contingency on the Nansei Islands. These islands are a chain stretching southwest from the Japanese prefectures of Kagoshima and Okinawa toward Taiwan. Notably, Okinawa has the bulk of American military installations in Japan.

Japan's Self Defence Forces will support the US military by sending troops to the island nation if a Taiwan contingency appears imminent, the report said citing sources.

The forces of both countries have listed around 40 candidate sites along the Nansei chain. This consist of nearly 200 islands including uninhabited ones.

In early December, Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had said that any Taiwan contingency would also be an emergency for Japan and for the Japan-US security alliance, according to Kyodo News.

( With inputs from ANI )