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.