While it has yet to finalize a $14 billion arms deal with Taiwan, the Trump administration is delivering a needed boost to deterrence against China. It is doing so with an anti-ship missile deployment to Japan’s westernmost island, Yonaguni. That island is just 60 nautical miles from Taiwan.

Japanese media report that NMESIS will arrive on Yonaguni for the Oct. 19-29 U.S.-Japan “Keen Sword” military exercise. NMESIS is the U.S. Marine Corps system that uses the Naval Strike Missile. Developed by Norway’s Kongsberg company, the Naval Strike Missile is a highly capable anti-ship missile designed to penetrate advanced air defenses and destroy key targets on enemy warships, such as sensors and control centers. These weapons have a range of at least 100 nautical miles, with upgrades set to extend that range to more than 150 nautical miles.