Japan and US Marines Corps participate in joint combat drills to improve interoperability of the forces and overall cooperation.
The Indo-Pacific sees increased activity as Beijing and Moscow agree on a common goal to counter the alliance of the US with the Pacific nations. In Europe, Russia is engaged in a land war to free provinces that want to secede from Kyiv; likewise, Taiwan does not want to reunite with mainland China.
Japa, the US Conduct Joint Drills
Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping face a familiar foe, the USA, which is potentially complex despite weak leadership.
Since Tuesday, Washington and Tokyo have been practicing airborne landing and combat drills. The US-Japan forces will need to face off with Russian-Chinese forces if the war reaches the Indo-Pacific, reported the Epoch Times.
Drills were done close to Mt. Fuji with a three-week schedule to exercise the involved units, about 400 soldiers from Japan-based Japan's Amphibious Rapid Development Brigade. They joined 600 unit-strong Marines Corps from Okinawa; they used the tilt-rotor Osprey as their chosen transport in the brigade drills, cited Express and Star.
Col. Masashi Hiraki of Japan's Amphibious Rapid Development Brigade remarked that they are committed to securing peace and stability in the region through Japan-U.S. joint responses.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit's commanding officer, Col. Michael Nakonieczny, said the forces are "working across all sectors to achieve the impacts that are required for success" on the battlefield.
Japan and US Marines Corps ramps up joint combat drills to pressure China over its sovereignty to large swaths of the South China Sea.
Japan Monitors Passing Russian Naval Ships
China has increased its military involvement in the South China Sea and launched numerous incursions into the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands.
Japan had mostly administered the Senkaku Islands from 1895, but Beijing began asserting its claims to the islands in the 1970s, dubbing them the Diaoyu Islands. Russia's marine activity, as well as its collaboration with China, is expanding.
The Japan Times reported last Tuesday that the Japanese navy identified six Russian naval ships crossing through the Soya Strait that divides Japan's northern island of Hokkaido with Russia's Sakhalin Island around midnight late Sunday.
Japan's government has communicated with Russia about the incident, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, and also is constantly monitoring the situation.
He added that From February, the Russian military has been performing large-scale naval maneuvers in the Sea of Okhotsk and other locations in conjunction with Moscow's incursion of Ukraine, and the six warships are thought to have participated in the drills.
On March 11, the military detected ten Russian navy ships passing through the Tsugaru Strait, linking Japan's main island of Honshu to Hokkaido prefecture.
Last week, Russia, remarked Matsuno, fired a land-to-air missile on the Moscow-controlled Kuril Islands that Japan also claims. The two countries could not sign a peace treaty due to a disagreement over the territories Moscow annexed somewhere at the end of World War 2.
Both Japan and US Marines Corps conducted the joint combat drills as activity from China and Russia increased after the Ukraine incursion that is raising tension everywhere.
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