Japan may further damage already frayed relations with China if it moves military forces closer to a group of islets claimed by both nations, said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan Campus. The Defense Ministry will deploy as many as 100 personnel to Yonaguni Island as early as April 2014, putting troops near the disputed isles known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. "This ups the ante," Kingston said. "Deploying forces closer to the scene of the action won’t be interpreted positively in Beijing."