Tokyo, 26 May, /AJMEDIA/
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will join a large-scale U.S. military exercise in the Pacific for the first time in June, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said, amid mounting security challenges posed by China and North Korea.
Kihara told a press conference that the SDF will participate in “various tactical trainings” mainly in the skies and waters surrounding Japan to be held from June 7 to 18 as part of the biennial “Valiant Shield” exercise, at the invitation of the U.S. side.
About 4,000 members of the ground, maritime and air self-defense forces are set to participate in the drills, which the U.S. military started in 2006, and some other nations are also expected to take part for the first time, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
“As our nation faces the increasingly severe security environment, it is extremely meaningful to enhance the Japan-U.S. alliance’s deterrence and response capabilities while expanding our partnership with like-minded nations through participation in this exercise,” Kihara said.
Japan and the United States have been increasing joint defense trainings and expanding them to other like-minded partners such as Australia, South Korea and the Philippines, with China’s maritime assertiveness and North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs in mind.
Facilities of the SDF and U.S. Forces Japan in nine prefectures, including SDF bases in the northeastern prefectures of Aomori and Miyagi, and an airfield in Iwoto, a Pacific island about 1,200 kilometers south of Tokyo, will be used in the upcoming exercise.
An SDF missile unit from Amami-Oshima Island in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima will hold anti-ship combat drills together with Japanese and U.S. fighter jets, according to the ministry.
© KYODO
