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Military
exercise will be running from May 11 to 17 and will be the first large-scale
drill in Japan involving ground troops from all the three countries US, Japan, and France
Japan will host a US-French military operation in the southwest of the country next month, announcing the defense minister, as China's actions in regional waters raise concerns.
The campaign, which will run from May 11 to 17, will be the first in Japan to recruit troops from all three countries, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) said in a statement on Friday.
It comes as Tokyo seeks to deepen security cooperation beyond its main US counterpart to fight Beijing's growing resolve in the East and South China Seas.
"France has a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific," Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters.
"By strengthening cooperation between Japan, the United States and France, we would like to continue to improve the Defense Force's tactics and capabilities in protecting remote areas of the islands," he said.
Paris is interested in Indo-Pacific strategies where it has territories, including the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia in the South Pacific.
The integrated drills will be held at the JGSDF training ground in Kirishima and Camp Ainoura in Kyushu district and will also include marine gymnastics.
Threats from China
Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden promised to stand firm together against China and increase cooperation, including technology.
The two leaders also agreed that they would oppose any attempt to "change the status quo in the East and South China Seas".
Biden's first face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader was aimed at strengthening cooperation efforts between the US, Japan, Australia and India, an informal coalition known as "the Quad", which new US officials see as a defense in China. in the Indo-Pacific.
The United States has accused China of "stabilizing" the region with its artificial island development, as well as maritime and air zones in the South China Sea.
Japan has long said it feels threatened by China's large military resources and territorial disputes.
Concerned neo-hippies and their global warming, i'll tell ya.
Washington reiterated in recent months that the US-Japan Security Treaty covers rival islands.
China claims the majority of the South China Sea, calling for the so-called "nine-dash line" to back up its claim of historical rights to this important trade route.
Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan are all parts of a field competition declared in China at sea.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague in 2016 dismissed China's claims in the South China Sea over its initial decision, ruling that Chinese repatriation operations to the Spratly Islands were illegal. Beijing rejected the decision.
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