Kyodo News reports that the Japanese Land Self-Defense Force, the French Army and the U.S. Marine Corps began a seven-day joint training exercise on Tuesday (11) that included outlying island landing operations and alley warfare. This is the first time that the land forces of the three countries have implemented formal combat exercises in Japan. On the other hand, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will also conduct joint training with the U.S., French and Australian navies in the East China Sea. (Fang Dehao reports)
Kyodo News reports that the relevant exercises will be held at the Sagura site in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and the Kirishima exercise site, which straddles Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures. According to the report, the total number of land forces participating in the team of about 220 people, including about 100 people from the land to Aigaura as the base of the special unit for the defense of the outlying islands, “Surface Mobile Corps” and about 60 people each from the United States and France.
According to Kyodo News, Japan and the United States have stepped up their counterbalance stance to China around the Diaoyu Islands (called Senkaku Islands in Japan) and Taiwan. European countries have also stepped up their vigilance against China and are expected to send troops to Japan’s periphery one after another, starting with this one. Australia has also joined the Japanese, U.S. and European encirclement network in an effort to contain the CCP’s maritime activities.
In a press conference after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi revealed that the Maritime Self-Defense Force will also participate in joint training and said he “hopes to further deepen the cooperative relationship between the four countries and share the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific”. The Maritime Self-Defense Force will conduct anti-submarine warfare and air defense training, and will be joined by Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighter jets.
After France, Britain also sent a carrier battle group, mainly HMS Queen Elizabeth, to Asia. Germany also announced the dispatch of frigates, the French Navy has repeatedly held joint training with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Middle East and the East China Sea.
In addition, Kyodo News also said that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga plans to go to Singapore to attend the Asian Security Conference (also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue) to be held there on June 4 and 5; the report said that in view of the intensified military actions of the Chinese Communist Party, which have heated up the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, Suga is expected to emphasize his own advocacy of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy. The report said that Kan is expected to emphasize his “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy in light of China’s intensified military actions that have heated up the situation in the East and South China Seas.
If Kan makes the trip, it will be about seven years since then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended an Asian security conference in 2014. However, his availability remains uncertain as the epidemic in Japan remains severe.
Kan plans to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit in the southwestern British city of Cornwall from June 11 to 13. He hopes to visit Singapore before then to bring diplomacy, which has been stalled by the new crown epidemic, back to normal gradually.
The Asia Security Conference is a major security conference focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, with participants including defense ministers and military stakeholders, and will discuss the regional situation and defense cooperation. The international conference is organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a British think tank, and is held annually in Singapore.
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