The Guard Districts (警備府, Keibifu) were second tier naval bases, similar to the first tier Naval Districts (鎮守府), with docking, fueling and resupply facilities, but typically lacked a shipyard or training school.[1] They tended to be established by strategic waterways or major port cities for defensive purposes.[2] In concept, the Guard District was similar to the United States NavySea Frontiers concept. the Guard District maintained a small garrison force of ships and Naval Land Forces which reported directly to the Guard District commander, and hosted detachments of the numbered fleets on a temporary assignment basis.
The port of Mako in the Pescadores Islands was an area with a long association with the Imperial Japanese Navy, having been the first portion of Taiwan captured during the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in the First Sino-Japanese War. Mako was designated a third echelon naval port, or yokobu (要港部) on 4 July 1901. It served as a staging point and refueling base in the Russo-Japanese War, and especially during the early stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Mako was upgraded to full Guard District status on 20 November 1941, and served as a staging group and supply base for the invasion of the Philippines and other naval operations in Southeast Asia after the start of the Pacific War.[3] In 1943, the base was relocated to Takao on the Taiwanese mainland.
Prados, John (1995). Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-460-02474-4.
Jentsura, Hansgeorg (1976). Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-893-X.
Goldstein, Donald M (2004). The Pacific War Papers. Brassey. ISBN1-57488-632-0.
