U.S. deploys 1st ballistic missile interceptor-equipped Aegis to Yokosuka

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U.S. deploys 1st ballistic missile interceptor-equipped Aegis to Yokosuka

The interceptor missile system-equipped Aegis cruiser USS Shiloh arrived at the U.S. Yokosuka Naval Base in Kanagawa Prefecture on August 29 in the first forward deployment of such a warship allegedly capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The United States has three warships equipped with SM-3 (Standard Missile-3), but the Shiloh is the only one that is in operation. With the Shiloh's deployment, the Yokosuka base has become a stronghold of the U.S. missile defense strategy.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter attended a ceremony marking the arrival of the Shiloh held at the Yokosuka base; the Secretary of Navy's attendance is unusual, showing the importance the U.S. attaches to the Shiloh's deployment. Winter boasted that the Shiloh has the best missile defense capability in the navy and that its deployment at Yokosuka underlines the strong ties between Japan and the U.S.

Joseph Donovan, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, stated that the deployment of the Shiloh to Japan symbolizes the missile defense strategy that constitutes a large part of the transformation of the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Kawai Chikao, director general of the Foreign Ministry North American Affairs Bureau, said that the Shiloh's deployment to Japan is just a beginning of the missile defense program, and expressed his determination to make every possible effort to increase Japan's cooperation with the U.S. in this effort.

In front of the Yokosuka base, members of the Yokosuka Council against A and H Bombs (Yokosuka-Gensuikyo) and other organizations protested against the Shiloh's deployment.

They tried to hand in a statement of protest addressed to the base commander demanding that the Shiloh be immediately sent back to the U.S., but base guards refused to accept it and blocked TV coverage of the scene.

Missile defense will enable the U.S. to preemptively launch attacks on adversaries without risking retaliation by supposedly neutralizing adversaries' use of ballistic missiles.

As part of the missile defense system, the U.S. X-band radar was installed on the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Shariki base in Aomori Prefecture in June, and the U.S. PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) will be installed at the U.S. Kadena Air Base in Okinawa in September, based on the Japan-U.S. agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan.
- Akahata, August 30, 2006