Mainichi and Yomiuri reported on the GSDF announcement on Thursday that it will launch on March 27 a Ground Central Command (GCC) that will serve as a unified nationwide command center over the five regional armies so as to be better prepared for regional contingencies, including the possible invasion of the Senkaku Islands by China. In order to enhance the defense of the disputed outcrops and other Nansei Islands, the GSDF will also establish an Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), which will be based in Nagasaki.

Yomiuri said there are issues that need to be addressed in order to make the ARDB effective, noting that transporting personnel and amphibious equipment from Nagasaki to problem areas may not be easy since the planned deployment of 17 Ospreys at Saga Airport has effectively been derailed.  Mainichi wrote that the GCC is being established to increase flexibility in deploying personnel nationwide in view of China’s aggressive naval operations in the East China Sea. The daily added that since the GSDF has suffered from hefty spending cuts compared with the MSDF and the ASDF following the end of the cold war, it is keen to play up its raison d’être in order to defend its turf ahead of the planned updating of the National Defense Program Guidelines in December.