French forces conducted the first-ever land-based joint military exercise with Japanese forces in Japan from 14 to 16. France sent a large battle group of warships to demonstrate its commitment to its Indo-Pacific strategy. The government’s decision to use the “new” technology in the “new” project was made by the government.
The government’s decision to use the “Joan of Arc 21” to participate in the military exercise in Japan. (Photo taken from Armée française-Opérations militaires Facebook)
The unprecedented exercise demonstrates Japan’s growing military cooperation with European countries and its traditional ally, the United States, in response to concerns about the rise of Chinese Communist power in the Indo-Pacific region.
For the two-day operation, France sent more than 60 foreign soldiers, naval and engineering units to work with the Japanese Land Self-Defense Force’s Amphibious Devices Group (ARDB) and the U.S. Navy in a hypothetical island capture situation and alleyway battle at the Kyushu Kirishima exercise site.
The French Navy’s “Jeanne d’Arc 21” (ARC21) battle group was seen in the military exercise. In addition to the joint military exercises with Japan, the United States and Australia, ARC21 will also carry out military and humanitarian missions in the East China Sea and monitor North Korean activities as part of the UN sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear and missile development.
Japan, the United States, France and Australia are sending dozens of warships to participate in the exercise, with France sending the ARC21 battle group, consisting of the amphibious assault ship Tonnerre and the patrol ship Surcouf.
The ARC21 mission also released a political message, with the exercise taking place near the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan. Takashi Kawakami, director of the Institute of World Studies at Takushoku University in Japan, told French media, “The ARC21 exercise is a deterrent to the increasingly aggressive behavior of the Chinese Communist Party in the region.”
The French side said the military exercise released a message to the Chinese Communist Party, calling for respect for international law. (Photo/revised from Mark Hong Facebook)
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi recently stressed that “France is a partner, sharing with Japan the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”
French Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Pierre Vandier said last November that “ARC21’s actions carry a message to the Chinese Communist Party,” stressing in particular “the importance of free navigation and respect for international law, on which we form a united front with our allies -That is, Japan, the United States, Australia and India”.
As France has territory in the Indo-Pacific region and a permanent deployment of 8,000 troops. During a visit to Australia in 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a “new axis for the Indo-Pacific” that proposes “an overall strategy of stability based on legal norms and confrontation with all forms of hegemony. Before arriving in Japan, the ARC21 battle group participated in the joint U.S.-Australian-Indian-Japanese military exercise La Perouse in the Bay of Bengal.
ARC21 mission commander Arnaud Tranchant said, “China and Taiwan were on either side of the ship, and we passed through them in accordance with the course established by international law.
Europe’s activities in the Indo-Pacific region will become increasingly frequent, with the ARC21’s joint military exercises in Japan followed by the arrival of the German destroyer Hessen this year. The German government said last year that it wanted to strengthen its operations in the Indo-Pacific region and participated for the first time in the “2+2” talks between the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and Germany. Then Japan will also welcome the British aircraft carrier battle group, accompanied by a Dutch warship.
Akitoshi Miyash*ta, a professor of international relations at Sophia University in Tokyo, analyzed that “European countries will be increasingly active in the region in response to the recent rise of Chinese Communist Party power and provocative moves in the South China Sea.
The current Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) in the Indo-Pacific region, which brings together the U.S., Japan, Australia and India, could be seen as an “Asian NATO” intended to counter the Chinese Communist Party, and the growing military deployments of other countries in the region could lead to an unofficial expansion of the Quad. The government’s response to the issue is to make it clear that the government is not going to be able to do so.
The government’s decision to use the “new” method to promote the “new” method is a result of the “new” method.
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