The Japanese military is set to hold
a drill involving 18,000 personnel between Nov. 1 and 18 to simulate
storming occupied islands near Okinawa, close to contested islands in
the East China Sea, says the Global Times, a tabloid published under the
auspices of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.
In the drill, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Western Army Infantry Regiment, which is responsible for offshore defense, will deploy an Osumi-class tank-landing ship to approach the target, an uninhabited atoll of Okidaitojima which lies 250 miles from Okinawa. F-22 fighter jets and destroyers will also take part in the drill, which will include live ammunition and amphibious landings.
The drill is the largest exercise that Japan's Self-Defense Force has held since 2009 and will test the response speed of its three main branches as well as their air and maritime defense capabilities. It is also said to be a major test of the army's command system since the country's defense ministry reportedly plans to set up a marine corps.
Japan has shifted the purpose of its military exercises from "experience" to "combat simulation" in recent years. The numerous exercises it has held with the United States since 2006 have seen Japanese soldiers deployed away from the homeland through transport aircraft and amphibious warfare ships, aiming to train the skills to project the country's force to remote islands. The US military has also taught Japanese special forces skills such as stealth landings by inflatable boat, infiltrations and attacks.
The first battalion of the Japanese army has also incorporated "retaking occupied offshore islands" into its training regime. It carried out an airborne landing training exercise aimed at retaking occupied islands in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo in January this year.
In this summer, Japan took part in the joint amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz with the US, Canada and New Zealand.
The atoll where the November drill will take place has been a shooting range for US Navy stationed in Okinawa since 1956. Experts said its shores are even more challenging and dangerous to attack than the Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands that are the center of an ongoing territorial dispute between China and Japan and will pose a great test to the amphibious ability of Japanese forces.
In the drill, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Western Army Infantry Regiment, which is responsible for offshore defense, will deploy an Osumi-class tank-landing ship to approach the target, an uninhabited atoll of Okidaitojima which lies 250 miles from Okinawa. F-22 fighter jets and destroyers will also take part in the drill, which will include live ammunition and amphibious landings.
The drill is the largest exercise that Japan's Self-Defense Force has held since 2009 and will test the response speed of its three main branches as well as their air and maritime defense capabilities. It is also said to be a major test of the army's command system since the country's defense ministry reportedly plans to set up a marine corps.
Japan has shifted the purpose of its military exercises from "experience" to "combat simulation" in recent years. The numerous exercises it has held with the United States since 2006 have seen Japanese soldiers deployed away from the homeland through transport aircraft and amphibious warfare ships, aiming to train the skills to project the country's force to remote islands. The US military has also taught Japanese special forces skills such as stealth landings by inflatable boat, infiltrations and attacks.
The first battalion of the Japanese army has also incorporated "retaking occupied offshore islands" into its training regime. It carried out an airborne landing training exercise aimed at retaking occupied islands in Chiba prefecture near Tokyo in January this year.
In this summer, Japan took part in the joint amphibious exercise Dawn Blitz with the US, Canada and New Zealand.
The atoll where the November drill will take place has been a shooting range for US Navy stationed in Okinawa since 1956. Experts said its shores are even more challenging and dangerous to attack than the Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands that are the center of an ongoing territorial dispute between China and Japan and will pose a great test to the amphibious ability of Japanese forces.
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