The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), with a quiet assist from the US Marine Corps, are forging a capability for amphibious operations intended for the defense of the chain of islands that stretch from southern Japan almost to Taiwan.
In particular, the mission of the newly trained JSDF troops will be to deter China’s troops from occupying the uninhabited Senkaku Islands [Diaoyutais, 釣魚台] at the end of the southwest chain known as the Nansei Shoto or Ryukyu Islands — or driving the Chinese off if they get there first.
Those in a position to advise the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe say they fear the Chinese will invade the islands one by one in an effort to avoid arousing Japanese opposition. The ultimate objective would be Okinawa, the largest of the chain and site of the principal US military base in the western Pacific.
China has asserted that the Senkakus, which Beijing calls the Diaoyu Archipelago (釣魚群島), are Chinese territory. Japan maintains the opposite and denies that sovereignty is in dispute. The US takes no position on the sovereignty issue, but says the Senkakus are administered by Japan and therefore are covered by the security treaty obligating US forces to help defend Japan. Taiwan also claims ownership of the islands.
The US could become engaged in a fight over the Senkakus or other islands in the Nansei Shoto if the Japanese government, which is primarily responsible for defending the islands, invokes the security treaty.
Military officers note that operations across water, whether sea, lake or river, are among the most difficult of military maneuvers. Basically, troops are exposed to enemy fire and are hard put to shoot back. The US Marine Corps has specialized in amphibious operations since World War II.
For the JSDF, this is a new venture because Japan has not had a marine corps since World War II. China, however, is believed to have been training a marine corps for about 25 years.
The JSDF conducted their largest amphibious exercise last summer in a training operation called “Dawn Blitz” in which 1,000 soldiers were moved by ship from Japan across the Pacific to “invade” San Clemente Island off the coast of California.
Then they got back on the ships and sailed to “invade” Camp Pendleton, the large US Marine base in California. US Marines helped train the Japanese.
A US military observer said in a report that the “JSDF did the necessary staff planning and coordination, as well as the necessary logistics work, and conducted these operations with modest US assistance.”
The observer, who asked not to be named, added: “Indeed, what we observed in Southern California could be done in the Nansei Shoto.”
A report — an after action report in military lingo — said the four helicopters of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) operated without incident from the ships.
“Things went so smoothly, one would have thought they had been doing this sort of operations for years,” the report said.
However, close air support from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) was missing. ASDF officers took part in operational planning, but aircraft will be required in future amphibious training, said the report, which was intended as an assessment for US officials who deal with Japanese military issues.
The JSDF demonstrated an ability to coordinate naval gunfire, helicopter attacks and mortar fire, and to execute proper calls for fire and to hit targets. A warship fired 251 rounds from its 5-inch gun without stoppage, impressing US Navy and Marine liaison officers, the report said.
The biggest shortcoming in both “invasions” was in communications. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the GSDF “managed to jury-rig a communications network,” the report said.
However, “it needs to be fixed” and “communications with US forces needs improvement,” it added.
“A good effort was made to provide necessary intelligence to support the commanders,” the report said, but “intelligence operations and improved intelligence sharing procedures with US forces should be a priority effort for both sides.”
An effort was made to look beyond 24 hours and to plan for requirements 48 to 72 hours ahead.
Battle planning “seemed to improve over the course of the exercise and, by the end, meetings and update briefs became shorter, more concise, and met the intended goal of allowing commanders to make informed decisions efficiently,” the report said.
“In some quarters there may have been a degree of puzzlement at how well the JSDF performed. Some of us, however, were not surprised,” the report added.
Richard Halloran is a commentator in Hawaii.
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