Japan's defence chief says Pacific surveillance is too thin after Liaoning carrier drills

Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Friday, 16 October 2026, that the Self-Defense Forces have only limited capacity to gather intelligence and keep watch on the Pacific side of the country, and that strengthening Japan's defence posture there is an urgent task. He made the remarks at a short news conference after a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo, in answer to a question about the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and its latest passage into the Pacific.

Koizumi confirmed that Liaoning and several other Chinese navy ships sailed on 14 October from the East China Sea through the waters between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island into the Pacific, then headed toward the South China Sea on 15 October. During the Pacific leg on 14 October, Japanese forces observed about 10 take-offs and landings by carrier-based fighters and helicopters from the ship. TV Asahi reported that the flight activity took place roughly 250 kilometres south of Ishigaki Island, and Okinawa Times reported that a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer monitored the group as it moved south.

The minister said China has steadily expanded and intensified its military activity around Japan in recent years. In his assessment, Beijing appears to be working to improve its carrier operating skills and its ability to carry out operations in distant sea and air areas, and the latest deployment can be seen as part of that effort. Beijing has described the voyage as routine training, according to the question put to Koizumi; that is a Chinese claim, not an independent finding.

Koizumi linked the Liaoning sortie to a wider pattern, saying military activity by neighbouring countries in the Pacific has become more frequent while the ministry's surveillance reach on that side remains thin. He declined to discuss the specific content of the revision of Japan's three national security documents, which the government aims to finish within the year, but said officials would deepen concrete and realistic study toward it. TV Asahi reported that the government intends to write a stronger Pacific-side defence posture into the revised documents, and Kyodo News reported that the minister vowed to boost monitoring after the carrier's voyage.

The same news conference turned to allied preparations in the islands closest to Taiwan. Koizumi said Japan and the United States will hold the joint integrated exercise Keen Sword 27 across Japan from 19 to 29 October, and that Japanese and American equipment will be deployed for training in the Sakishima islands. A reporter noted that US Marine Corps Ospreys used Miyako and Ishigaki airports on 15 October and that a Ground Self-Defense Force Osprey also landed at Miyako. Koizumi said the aircraft are using the two civilian airports to move equipment, which would let the forces make full use of their capabilities in every situation, including disaster response.

Asked about safety concerns linked to past Osprey crashes, Koizumi said the forces would give maximum weight to safety during the training and try to keep the impact on local residents to a minimum. He did not say how many aircraft or troops would take part in the Sakishima portion of the exercise.

For Taiwan, the remarks matter because the passage the Liaoning group used, between Okinawa and Miyako, is a main gateway for Chinese carrier groups heading into the western Pacific east of Taiwan. A Japanese effort to close surveillance gaps on that flank would add allied coverage of the same waters, while Keen Sword places Japanese and US forces in the island chain next to Taiwan within days of the carrier's transit.

Koizumi also announced that Malaysian Defence Minister Khaled Nordin will visit Japan from 18 to 21 October, the first such visit by a Malaysian defence minister in eight years, with talks on 19 October set to cover regional affairs and maritime security. He said the transport ship Kunisaki returned to Yokosuka on 16 October after a disaster relief mission fighting forest fires in Indonesia.