The Ground Self-Defense Force opened a camp in the city of Saga on Wednesday as it began work to relocate its 17 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft from a camp in eastern Japan.
The Osprey deployment from the GSDF's Camp Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, to the new camp is scheduled to be completed by mid-August.
The move is aimed at enhancing the Self-Defense Forces' quick response capability for the defense of the Nansei group of islands in southwestern Japan, amid China's increasing maritime activities.
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