US deployment of the Typhon missile system to southern Japan could directly threaten China’s coastal cities and block crucial naval routes to the Pacific, a Chinese analyst has warned.

The Typhon mid-range missile launcher was expected to be positioned in southwestern Japan next month for joint US-Japan military exercises, Kyodo News reported last week.

Fu Qianshao, a Beijing-based military analyst, said the reported deployment site – Kanoya Airbase in Kagoshima prefecture – was alarming because of its proximity to mainland China.

“The deployment location is relatively close to the Chinese mainland. If cruise missiles are deployed there with a certain level of launch capability, it will pose a threat to relevant Chinese [land] targets,” Fu said.

Kanoya Airbase – on Kyushu island facing the East China Sea – is closer to China than most other Japanese bases.