Kirishima Training Ground, Japan (AP) — Dozens of Japanese, US and French troops land as rain falls on the grass of a training ground in southern Japan from a CH-47 transport helicopter as part of a joint scenario of remote island defense on Saturday. did. From the invasion of the enemy.
The first joint training of the three countries on Japanese soil called “ARC21”, which began on Tuesday, comes as China seeks to strengthen military relations in the region as China’s claims grow.
In addition, at other locations in the SDF’s Kirishima training ground in southern Miyazaki prefecture, Japanese soldiers, French and US Marine Corps respondents conducted urban warfare training using concrete buildings. About 200 troops participated in the Saturday exercise.
On Saturday, Australia joined the three countries in an extended naval exercise involving 11 warships in the East China Sea, where tensions with China are rising around the island of Taiwan.
Training takes place as Japan seeks to strengthen its military power as Japan deepens its territorial line with China in the regional seas. Japan is increasingly concerned about China’s activities in and around the waters claimed by Japan surrounding the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands.
Since the end of World War II, the Constitution of Japan has restricted the use of force to self-defense. In recent years, Japan has continued to expand its military role, capabilities and budget.
Japan’s Deputy Defense Minister Yasuhide Nakayama, who visited the exercise, emphasized the importance of France’s participation in joint exercises held regularly between Japan and the United States and often with Australia.
“It was a valuable opportunity for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to maintain and strengthen the strategic capabilities needed to protect the remote islands,” said Nakayama. “Together, we were able to show the world our commitment to protect Japan’s land, territorial waters and airspace.”
France, which has territories in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, has strategic interests in the region.
“It’s obviously very important because we need to be in line with people who share this part of the world,” French Army Lieutenant Colonel Henri Marcaille told reporters after the exercise on Saturday.
US Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Jeremy Nelson said the three countries have shown that they can work together “for a common goal or a common purpose.”
The UK, which recently adopted a policy of deeper involvement in the region, is arriving in the region later this year and has dispatched the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth and its strike group. Germany will also deploy frigate ships in the area.
Japan and the United States are a region of a group known as the Quad, including Australia and India, seen as a move against China’s escalation, a free and open Indo-Pacific defense and economic framework based on democratic principles. We have promoted our vision. Impact on the region.
China has criticized the US-Japan framework as an exclusivity block based on the Cold War era.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Nuga Haruka, an Associated Press video journalist, contributed to this report.