US stealth fighters sent to allied base to counter China threat
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, an aviation unit of the U.S. Marine Corps headquartered in Japan, confirmed to Newsweek that it now has a total of four F-35 squadrons. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Newsweek written request for comment.
Japan is part of the First Island Chain under America's containment strategy, which seeks to restrict China's military access to the wider Pacific Ocean through U.S.-aligned territories. The U.S. military maintains bases in Japan to respond to potential emergencies in the region.
In early March, the U.S. Marine Corps sent an unknown number of F-35B stealth fighter jets to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan. The aircraft, assigned to the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214, were originally based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona.
The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing stated that the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, a second F-35B squadron based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, was deployed to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on Saturday to support flight operations across the Indo-Pacific region.
The aircraft were deployed under the Unit Deployment Program, which aims to provide continental U.S.-based units with experience operating in the Indo-Pacific region through 'continuous and overlapping deployments,' according to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.
Meanwhile, the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 remains at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing said in response to an inquiry from Newsweek. The Arizona-based F-35B unit was also deployed to Japan under the Unit Deployment Program.
Prior to the arrival of the two F-35B squadrons from Arizona, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni was already the permanent home to the Marine Fighter Attack Squadrons 242 and 121, which operate the same type of jets and provide combat-ready forces for operations in the Western Pacific.
The F-35B aircraft is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings from ships without full-length runways and austere locations. Its two sister variants-the F-35A and F-35C-are designed for operations from conventional runways and aircraft carriers, respectively.
In addition to the U.S. Marine Corps' F-35B aircraft, Japan currently hosts the F-35A jets operated by the U.S. Air Force at Kadena Air Base on the southwestern island of Okinawa, as well as the F-35C jets of the U.S. Navy based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni.
The U.S. Marine Corps 1st Marine Aircraft Wing said: '[Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211] will augment 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in providing critical aviation support from naval and expeditionary environments. This allows the Marine Corps to ensure operational readiness as obligated in support of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.'
U.S. Marine Corps Major General Marcus B. Annibale, commanding general of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, said: 'As more F-35 squadrons deploy to the remote and contested environments of the Indo-Pacific, Marine Aviation's readiness will grow, and our capabilities as a combined force in this region will become even more lethal.'
It remains unclear how long the Arizona-based F-35B units will remain deployed, and President Donald Trump has questioned why the security treaty signed with Japan, asking why is was not reciprocal.
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