Japan plans first joint military drill with US, France as Manila issues more protests

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Japan plans first joint military drill with US, France as Manila issues more protests against Beijing in South China Sea
By: Agence France-Presse, Reuters & South China Morning Post - 04-23-21
Re: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-...-manila-issues

Photo link: https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image...7&v=1619171572
Japan has long said it feels threatened by China’s vast military resources and territorial disputes. Photo: AP

Japan will hold a joint military drill with US and French troops in the country’s southwest next month, the defence minister said on Friday, as China’s actions in regional waters raise concern.

The exercise, running from May 11-17, will be the first large-scale exercise in Japan involving ground troops from all three countries, the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force (JGSDF) said in a statement.

Tokyo has sought to deepen defence cooperation beyond its key US ally to counter Beijing’s growing assertiveness in the East and South China seas.
“France shares the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters.

“By strengthening cooperation between Japan, the United States and France, we’d like to further improve the tactics and skills of the Self-Defence Forces in defending remote island territories,” he said.

Paris has strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific where it has territories, including the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia in the South Pacific.

The joint drills will be held at the JGSDF’s Kirishima training ground and Camp Ainoura in the Kyushu region and include amphibious operation exercises.

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and US President Joe Biden vowed to stand firm together against China and step up cooperation including on technology.

Re: Map link: https://youtu.be/lRHvHA1LMZk

Japan has long said it feels threatened by China’s vast military resources and territorial disputes.

It is particularly concerned by Chinese activity after the Japanese-administered Senkaku islands, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu.

Washington has reiterated in recent months that the US-Japan Security Treaty covers the disputed islands.

China claims the majority of the South China Sea, invoking its so-called nine-dash line to justify what it says are historic rights to the key trade waterway.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan all contest parts of China’s declared territory in the sea.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, where about US$3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes each year. An international arbitral tribunal in 2016 invalidated China’s expansive claim, which is based on its own maps.

2nd photo link: https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default...2_b3ee84ec.jpg
Philippine demonstrators \rally in front of the Chinese consulate in Manila. Photo: EPA

On Friday, the Philippines revealed it had sent two new diplomatic protests to China over its failure to withdraw what it called “threatening” vessels that were massing in contested areas of the South China Sea.

The Philippines has ramped up its rhetoric in recent weeks over the lingering presence of hundreds of Chinese boats in its 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), testing relations between two countries that have sought to heal their historic rifts.

The Philippine foreign ministry said maritime officials had observed the “continued unauthorised presence and activities” of 160 Chinese fishing and militia vessels around the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, as of April 20.

Five Chinese coastguard vessels were also spotted around the areas.

2nd video link: https://youtu.be/7b3MW4OtfvY
Philippine coastguard sends strong warning to Chinese vessels during South China Sea patrol

“The continued swarming and threatening presence of the Chinese vessels creates an atmosphere of instability and is a blatant disregard of the commitments by China to promote peace and stability in the region,” the foreign ministry said.

The Philippines this week announced it would increase the presence of vessels in its EEZ. Under international law, foreign vessels are permitted to make “innocent passage” through a country’s EEZ.

Chinese diplomats have denied militia were aboard the vessels. China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday on the new protests.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he was prepared to deploy navy ships to assert the country’s sovereign rights to oil and mineral resources in its EEZ, telling

China that if it started drilling for oil, so will he.
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** Here's the real issue its Duterte China made him offer of bokoo money for his resources on PI and fishing rights. The issues with PI and USA is that the united states will not give him what he wants - so he's shopping for a better deal with China! I think his people already know that but still wants nothing to do with China! They remember WWII and they were treated back then and don't want a repeat of that ruling! Don't blame them at all. They got-ta kick out Duterte he's not worried about his people or country - he's only thinking about how much more money he can pocket - many already know this!**
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