China/Japan: Japan Begins Work on Surveillance Unit near Disputed Islands – Report

Apr 20, 2014 | GMA Network
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TOKYO - Japan broke ground Saturday on a coastal surveillance unit near a string of islands at the center of a bitter territorial dispute with China, a report said.

Radar equipment will be installed on Yonaguni island to monitor ships and aircraft in the East China Sea, the Kyodo News agency said. The island lies around 150 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of the Tokyo-controlled Senkakus, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyus.

The Ground Self-Defense Force surveillance unit comprising around 150 personnel will be deployed on Yonaguni by the end of March 2016, Kyodo said, citing Japan's defense ministry.