Japan, United States, Australia, Philippines conducted joint maritime exercises
Japan, the United States, Australia, and the Philippines conducted joint naval exercises (photo: wikipedia.org)
Japan, the United States, Australia, and the Philippines conducted joint military-naval exercises in the South China Sea, according to Kyodo.
The joint exercises involving Japan, the United States, Australia, and the Philippines began after a Chinese coast guard ship fired water cannons at Philippine military vessels in the South China Sea in early August.
The drills included Japan's largest destroyer, the Izumo, and the destroyer Samidare from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Additionally, the exercises featured the US Navy's coastal combat ship, the USS Mobile, Australia's amphibious ship, the Canberra, and the frigate Anzac, along with F-35A fighter jets and the Philippine Navy's Dabao Del Su landing platform dock.
The main objective of the exercises is to strengthen cooperation among the four nations to uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
According to sources close to the Japanese government, these joint drills were originally planned as trilateral exercises, but the Philippines initially considered pulling out.
The joint exercises involving Japan, the United States, and Australia
To foster cooperation among their respective navies in the Indo-Pacific region, Japan, the United States, and Australia regularly conduct joint maritime and aviation exercises.
On August 11, India, Japan, the United States, and Australia held military-maritime exercises called Malabar off the coast of Sydney. These exercises took place for the first time near the eastern coast of Australia rather than the western coast, as was the case in previous iterations. This change was due to the fact that the ships were located close to the Talisman Sabre exercises involving 13 countries.
It's worth noting that on August 5, a US Navy Virginia-class nuclear submarine arrived in Australia to participate in these joint exercises.
