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Japan and the United States began air, sea and land exercises around Japan on Monday, in a show of force in the face of increasing Chinese military activity in the region.
The “Keen Sword” exercise is the first of its kind since Yoshihide Suga became Japanese Prime Minister last month, promising to continue military preparation to confront China, which claims the Japanese-controlled islands in the Sea. from East China.
Notably, the “Keen Sword” exercises, which are held every two years, include dozens of warships, hundreds of aircraft, 46,000 soldiers, sailors and Marines from Japan and the United States.
The exercises will last until November 5 and will include electronic warfare training for the first time.
“The security situation throughout Japan has become more and more dire,” said General Koji Yamazaki, Japan’s supreme military commander, aboard the Kaga helicopter carrier in waters south of Japan. This gives us an opportunity to show the strength of the Japan-US alliance. “
The 248-meter-long Kaga aircraft carrier, which was returning from patrols in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, will be modernized early next year to withstand F-35 stealth fighters.
The new Japanese prime minister visited Vietnam and Indonesia this month, as part of Japan’s efforts to strengthen ties with major allies in Southeast Asia.
This came after a Tokyo meeting of the “Quartet,” an informal gathering of India, Australia, Japan and the United States that Washington sees as a bulwark against China’s growing regional influence. Beijing described it as a “miniature NATO” with the aim of containing it.
Japan has been particularly concerned about increased Chinese maritime activity around disputed islands in the East China Sea, and Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of US forces in Japan, said aboard the Kaga aircraft carrier that recent activity China has alarmed Washington and Tokyo, including the new security laws in Hong Kong, the Chinese military concentration in the south and the Chinese military harassment of Taiwan in recent months.
Source: Reuters
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