US, India, Japan to stage major drill in Western Pacific
Fleets from the United States, India and Japan are planned to stage a large-scale naval drill in the Western Pacific region, where China has territorial claims.
Japan's Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Tuesday that its forces will join Exercise Malabar, an annual event held by the US and India, which will begin on June 10 and will last for eight days.
It is for the first time since 2007 that Japan officially joins the war games, seen as a reflection of Tokyo’s growing concerns about China’s claims on some of Japanese islands in the area.
Beijing has claims on a group of uninhabited Japanese-controlled isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, which are located about 220 kilometers (137 miles) west of Taiwan.
The Japanese also fear that China may try to extend its current influence in the South China Sea into the Western Pacific and access distant oceans.
Tokyo has reinforced its southwestern island chain with radar stations and anti-ship missile batteries. The area is home to the biggest concentration of US military personnel in Asia, effectively blocking China's east coast access to the Western Pacific.
Some modern military equipment will be used by Japan during the joint drill, including the Hyuga warships, one of the country’s three new helicopter carriers. The warship will practice submarine hunting and anti-aircraft defense, military sources said.
China claims most of the South China Sea, despite overlapping claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, which all enjoy military ties with the United States. Officials in Beijing called on Washington on Tuesday to play a constructive role in safeguarding peace in the disputed region.
The US and India conducted the previous edition of Malabar in the Bay of Bengal near India last year.
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