One of Japan’s largest warships, the helicopter carrier Izumo, offers a glimpse of where its military is headed: For the first time, troops from a newly formed amphibious brigade of Japan’s army participated in an extended naval deployment.
The Izumo left Subic, a former US naval base in the Philippines, at the end of a two-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific region at a time of prolonged tensions involving China’s sweeping territorial claims in and around the South China Sea.
The carrier, along with the destroyers Murasame and Akebono, just finished a series of drills with the US and other nations.
Illustration: Mountain People
Japan’s ability to project military power beyond its borders is severely constrained by the commitment to pacifism and rejection of use of military force in conflict enshrined in its post-World War II constitution, although in 2015 it was reinterpreted to allow the use of force in defending itself and its allies.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made amending the constitution to allow the military greater leeway one of his lifetime goals.
US President Donald Trump has sought to help that cause, calling repeatedly for Japan to do more to defend itself under its alliance with the US.
In May, Japan conducted its first quadrilateral exercise with France, the US and Australia in the Bay of Bengal. France deployed its flagship nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the FS Charles de Gaulle, while the US sent a missile destroyer, the William P. Lawrence.
Other drills have included Canada, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines.
Japan is preparing to reconfigure the Izumo to accommodate US stealth fighters, including F-35Bs, after announcing that it would purchase 42 of its own. The aircraft are designed to operate with short takeoffs and vertical landings, such as on carriers.
The purchase underscores Japan’s growing role in its postwar alliance with the US.
“In order to incorporate what was not originally in the design, or something new that had not even been thought of, I think this would require research into many areas, otherwise it wouldn’t go well,” said Captain Katsuyoshi Motoyama, the Izumo’s commanding officer.
Yasukazu Tanaka of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, similar to the US Marines, said that the exercises were meant to deepen coordination between them and ground troops to facilitate use of the carrier for transporting troops to front lines.
Since the Izumo can accommodate both air and sea transport, “there are great possibilities for us to conduct amphibious operations,” he said, although he and all others involved emphasized that the ground and marine troops conducted no joint exercises.
Ground troops are still exploring how best to operate on longer missions, where regulations limit use of live-fire weapons on board. Troops practiced emergency first-aid response and trained on the flight deck and in the aircraft carrier hangar deck, at times using guns made of rubber in battle scenarios.
China has been expanding its military presence to press home its determination to defend its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea in the face of challenges by the US and its allies, unnerving many in the region.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense says that the air force last year scrambled fighter jets 999 times, the second-highest number since it began defending its airspace in 1958. Of that number, 64 percent were responses to Chinese aircraft.
The US Navy and others have angered Beijing by repeatedly sailing their ships close to Chinese-occupied islands to assert what they say is the right to freedom of navigation.
Beijing also has installed advanced weapons systems at several disputed locations, including seven islands it built by piling sand and concrete on top of coral atolls.
Some of those sites are now equipped with airstrips, radar and missile stations, expanding China’s ability to monitor and potentially control activity by other militaries in the region.
So far, encounters have been peaceful, but all sides are concerned about the potential for miscalculations that could spark conflict.
During its five-day voyage from Brunei to the Philippines, Izumo skirted near the so-called “nine-dash line” marking China’s territorial claims while conducting its last few exercises with navies from Brunei and the Philippines.
Japan’s navy also hosted a training program for young representatives from Southeast Asian nations, with lectures on international maritime law, humanitarian and disaster relief programs, and exercises in navigation and communications. Most participants were officers in their 20s and 30s.
“Especially with the territorial and boundaries part, I think that would be vital information for us,” said Mohammed Danial bin Matyussof, a junior lieutenant in the Brunei navy. “We have neighboring boundaries with Malaysia and Vietnam, so it could provide insight every time we do patrols.”
While the backdrop of the exercises was evident, given China’s rising profile, “this Indo-Pacific deployment is not an operation that is aimed at any one specific country,” Escort Flotilla One commander Hiroshi Egawa said.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS