South China Sea Countering China: Japan launches first joint military drill with US, France
Keeping in mind the Chinese aggressive stance, Japanese, US and French troops kicked off their first-ever joint military drill Tuesday in southwestern Japan, media reports said.
An Australian naval ship is also taking part in the week-long air, land and sea exercises involving 300 ground troops from the three countries, reported AFP News Agency.
The measure has been taken at a time when Tokyo looks to deepen defence ties beyond its key US ally and with eyes on Beijing's moves in the East and South China seas.
"The drill is no doubt a deterrent to China's increasingly aggressive behaviour in the region," Takashi Kawakami, head of the Institute of World Studies at Takushoku University, told AFP.
"In the long term, European commitment in the Indo-Pacific could lead to closer ties between Japan and NATO, something former prime minister Shinzo Abe advocated," he added.
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