Japanese Forces, Playing War Games, Enter the Philippines on the Ground for First Time Since World War II

The land of the rising sun is flexing its muscles as a military power in Asia with Japanese troops landing in the Philippines for the first time since imperial Japan ruled the land in World War II. About 1,400 Japanese are among 17,000 troops from seven countries joining in the largest allied exercises ever in the Philippines.Japanese air and naval forces are participating in the annual exercise, called Balikatan, or “shoulder to shoulder,” elevating their role to a new level while arousing the ire of Communist China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam. Japan’s defense ministry said Tokyo would “take part in exercises across air, land, sea, and cyberspace domains, including maritime strike operations, counter-landing live-fire exercises, integrated air and missile defense, medical operations, and airfield runway repair.” The drills, it said, would be held “across the country.”The Japanese TV network NHK said Japanese strength in Balikatan had increased under a “reciprocal access agreement” reached by Japan and the Philippines last September. The agreement makes Japan a de facto ally of the Philippines, historically bound in alliance to America. In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II in the Pacific, American forces defeated the Japanese, who had taken over the country, then an American colony, after bombing Pearl Harbor.The entry of Japanese troops to the April 20-May 8 war games coincides with Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, lifting constraints on exporting “lethal” weapons, including ships, planes, and missiles, to foreign countries. The Japanese website Nikkei Asia, an offshoot of the huge financial newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, reported Japan’s expansion moves in rapid-fire succession.“Japan to test commitment to South China Sea in Philippine-US drills,” reported one Nikkei piece. “This marks the first time Japan will fully participate in the exercises, even as geopolitical tensions rise in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.”“IHI, Mitsubishi Heavy to boost production as Japan eases arms export rules,” said another headline, reporting that the decision to ease restrictions on defense equipment exports “is expected to open the door to overseas sales, prompting local companies such as IHI and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to ramp up production and accelerate capital investment.”“Japan’s old arms in demand as export rules eased,” said Nikkei, which quoted Ms. Takaichi’s top spokesman “seeing growing interest from other countries in its decommissioned defense equipment.” NHK reported a spokesman for Japan’s Self-Defense Forces as saying the entry of ground forces to the Philippines would “deepen coordination and mutual understanding with other countries’ units through multilateral drills and improve our ability to respond appropriately to various situations.”The participation of Japan’s navy is sure to alarm China more than anything else. NHK reported Tokyo would “deploy its Type 88 surface-to-ship missile system, which has an operational range of approximately 100 kilometers in a maritime strike exercise that will involve sinking a decommissioned vessel near the South China Sea and Taiwan.”Japan was also sending “one of its largest warships, the helicopter-class destroyer JS Ise, along with landing ship JS Shimokita and destroyer JDS Ikazuchi, as well as C-130H transport aircraft and US-2 amphibious search and rescue aircraft,” NHK reported.The message seemed clear considering that the coast of the northern Philippine island of Luzon is only 200 miles south of Free China, Taiwan, which China claims as its own and regularly threatens with warships and planes. The Chinese, moreover, have established air and naval bases in the South China Sea within 100 miles of Philippine soil.Buttressed by the display of allied support even as Washington focuses on the war in Iran, the Philippines could afford to scoff at the Chinese for warning against actions that a Chinese spokesperson said could lead to “division and confrontation.” Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and France, besides America and Japan, are joining the armed forces of the Philippines in the war games.With an air of bravado, the spokesman for the Philippine navy, Rear Admiral Vincent Trinidad, responded “we are unfazed” by the Chinese and “will not be deterred from performing our mandate.” The Philippines has the “sovereign” right to conduct exercises that were “defensive in nature,” the Philippine Inquirer quoted him as saying. “We are allowed to engage any like-minded states in furtherance of our national interest.”

Japanese Forces, Playing War Games, Enter the Philippines on the Ground for First Time Since World War II

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