Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force stepped up preparations Monday toward creating an amphibious force like the U.S. Marine Corps by putting in place a new unit that will offer training to members of the envisioned brigade.

The GSDF amphibious brigade, to be launched at the end of the next fiscal year through March 2018, will be tasked with countering possible attacks on Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan, as the country faces China’s growing maritime assertiveness.

The brigade will undergo training to use AAV-7 vehicles, which are also used by U.S. Marines and can operate in waters like a ship, as well as to land on islands without being noticed by enemies, according to GSDF officials.

On Monday, a ceremony to mark the launch of the training unit was held at the GSDF’s Camp Ainoura in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan. The amphibious brigade will be based in the same camp and a preparatory unit was installed there in 2015.

“The security environment is becoming more severe. I want you to be aware of the heavy responsibility you all bear in supporting the amphibious operations,” Col Ryuji Toyoda, who leads the GSDF’s Western Infantry Regiment, told his subordinates who will conduct the training.

Japan Today