The U.S. and Japan are developing the first missile response plan to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan: a factor likely to bring Donald Trump and Shigeru Ishiba closer together

At the end of November 2024, the United States began developing the first operational (missile) plan to respond to a future Chinese invasion of Taiwan, which will include coordination with the armed forces of Japan and the Philippines.

According to it, a US Marine regiment armed with HIMARS systems should be deployed on the eve of the PLA offensive along the Nanshan island chain, i.e., from Kyushu Island to the offshore island of Yonaguni (Ryukyu Archipelago, Okinawa Prefecture).

At the same time, the United States will deploy a unit of the Multi-Domain Task Force along the Philippine archipelago, which is likely to operate Typhon systems.

In fact, this is the first case of planning defense operations in the coalition format of JAPHUS. One of the central goals is to create a "security wall" from Kyushu to Luzon to repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. This wall complements other US regional security elements, such as JAROKUS, QUAD, and AUKUS.