Japan plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles to its remote western island near Taiwan by March 2031, its defence minister said, as regional tensions simmer, BBC reported. 

It is the first time that Japan specified a timeline for the missile deployment to Yonaguni island since it was announced in 2022.

China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to "reunify" with it. Yonaguni is visible from Taiwan's shores on a clear day, located just 110km (68 miles) away, according to BBC.