The US is set to deploy over a dozen F-35 Lightning II warplanes in Japan next year, a move that is likely to anger China and intensify tensions in East Asia.
The US Forces Japan confirmed the deployment in a tweet on Friday, adding that the state-of-the-art fighter jets will be stationed at a Marine Corps base in the Japanese city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
“The future of US Marine Corps aviation, the F-35 Lightning II set to hit MCAS Iwakuni in 2017,” the force said.
The Pentagon did not immediately disclose the exact number of the aircraft to be deployed, but the Japanese media put the figure at 16.
“US officially notifies Japan of deployment of 16 F-35 fighters,” Japan’s Kyodo news agency noted.
The Japanese central government had in August informed Iwakuni officials that the jets would be deployed in the first half of 2017.
According to Japan Times, 10 Lightings…