Photo/Illutration A combat operations center covered with camouflage netting is seen in Oahu, Hawaii, in August. (Takashi Watanabe)

The U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa Prefecture is restyling its regiment there as a littoral defense force suitable for rapid deployment to remote islands under enemy fire.

The 12th Marine Regiment stationed at Camp Hansen in the town of Kin and surrounding municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture will be redesignated as the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment, the Marine Corps said on Oct. 17. The change will take place Nov. 15.

The new body will be a core unit within the Marines’ new operational concept of expeditionary advanced base operations, in which Marines conduct attacks while moving within range of an opponent’s missiles.

Some of Japan’s islands may be exposed in this way if China were to mount an offensive.

This is the second Marine Corps littoral regiment to be created, following the first in Hawaii in March last year.

A third is also planned. It is expected to be deployed to Guam.

In its statement, the 3rd Marine Division said the littoral regiment’s purpose is to “bolster deterrence” to defend Japan and respond quickly to contingencies.

It underscored that this is the redesignation of an existing unit, not the deployment of new troops.

This is intended to address longstanding resentment in Okinawa Prefecture over its hosting of around 70 percent of all U.S. military installations in Japan.

In 2012, Tokyo and Washington agreed to slash the number of the troops in the prefecture. The U.S. would retain approximately 10,000 Marine Corps personnel in Okinawa, relocate 4,000 to Guam and move 5,000 to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.

To alleviate the burden from military bases in the prefecture, the Japanese government agreed to bear up to $3.1 billion (464 billion yen) of the $8.6 billion total cost for the Guam relocation plan.

However, in January of this year, during meetings of the so-called “2+2” Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee, foreign and defense chiefs from both countries revised the plan.

They agreed to jointly bolster the defense of the Nansei Islands, located between the main island of Kyushu and Taiwan, in response to China’s military expansion. To that end, they scrapped the relocation of the 12th Marine Regiment to Guam.

Instead, the unit would be redesignated as a marine littoral regiment by 2025. And it would stay within Okinawa Prefecture along with the 3rd Marine Division headquarters, according to the decision at the ministerial meetings.

The 12th Marine Regiment is currently participating in the Japan-U.S. joint exercise Resolute Dragon, which runs from Oct. 14 to Oct. 31.

The 3rd Marine Division also said the 12th Marine Regiment will be distributed in a similar manner to what is designed for the Marine Littoral Regiment in the exercise. They will deploy to the Nansei Islands, Kyushu and Hokkaido. 

“The move came sooner than expected,” an Okinawa prefectural government official said. “This time it’s a redesignation of the unit remaining in the prefecture, but we would like (to hear about) troops moving overseas to reduce the burden.”

The Okinawa prefectural government was informed about the redesignation on Oct. 17 through the Okinawa Defense Bureau.

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