Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi announced Friday (April 23) that Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will hold joint military exercises with U.S. and French forces next month around Kyushu, southwest of mainland Japan, in response to troubling moves by China in the relevant waters.
The exercise will be held from May 11 to 17 at Sagura Barracks in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and at Kirishima Exercise Ground, which straddles Ezo City and Kagoshima’s Yusui Town in Miyazaki Prefecture, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force said in a statement.
This will be the first major military exercise involving ground forces from all three countries to be held on Japanese soil.
For a period of time, the strong posture of the Chinese military in the East China Sea and South China Sea has caused uneasiness among neighboring countries, including Japan. Tokyo is actively working to get more countries to join the U.S.-Japan defense cooperation initiative for this reason.
Nobuo Kishi said at a press conference that “France shares the idea of maintaining freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region.”
Nobuo Kishi said, “By strengthening cooperation between Japan, the United States and France, we hope to improve the tactical and technical level of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in defending the outlying territories.”
France also has strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region. It owns the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia in the South Pacific.
During the exercise, naval and air force units will participate in the waters and airspace west of Kyushu, Nobuo Kishi said. At the same time, the French Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will also conduct joint exercises.
Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and the U.S. president met at the White House and agreed to work together to address the Chinese threat. The two sides will also strengthen cooperation in areas such as science and technology.
China’s vast military resources and assertive sovereignty claims pose a huge threat to Japan. Japan is particularly disturbed by China’s strong stance on the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Islands).
The United States has recently reiterated on several occasions that the Senkaku Islands are covered by the U.S.-Japan security treaty.
China insists on its sovereignty over almost all the waters of the South China Sea. This position has drawn strong opposition from Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, and in 2016 the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s territorial claims based on the so-called 9-dash line were illegal. Beijing rejected the ruling.
Recent Comments