Gsdf To Conduct Drills With Us, French Forces
Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force will conduct joint exercises with the French army and the US Marine Corps next month. It will be the first time that the GSDF and the French army will conduct drills together in Japan.
The Defense Ministry says the drills will take place from May 11 through 17. It says the exercises will be carried out mainly in the Kirishima training ground, which straddles Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures in western Japan.
The ministry says the GSDF's amphibious brigade will take part in the drills. The Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade specializes in coastal landing operations, which would be necessary, if Japan's remote islands were invaded.
The ministry says participants from each country will go over the procedures for landing operations. It says SDF helicopters and the US Marines' Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft will be used in the drills.
The ministry says the participants also plan to practice storming into buildings. The French army has experience in anti-terrorism warfare.
The trilateral drills are believed to be aimed at demonstrating that Japan is stepping up cooperation not only with the United States, but also with multiple countries, in light of China's increasing maritime assertiveness.
France has an interest in the Indo-Pacific, where it has overseas territories. Paris has apparently decided to take part in the joint drills as a way of displaying its military flag in the region, in view of China's actions.