U.S. to send long-range surveillance drones to Japan amid Taiwan tensions

The U.S. military will deploy several long-range surveillance drones to Okinawa Prefecture, near Japan's far-flung southwestern islands area near Taiwan, as the allies seek to counter China's ramped-up drone presence in the same area. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tuesday that the U.S. MQ-4C Triton drones will be sent to the U.S. air base in Kadena, on Okinawa's main island, in the coming weeks. "This deployment is expected to enhance the Japan-U.S. alliance's intelligence-gathering capabilities and, by extension, the alliance's deterrence and response capabilities," Nakatani told a news conference.