US, Japan engage in army drills using China as hypothetical enemy
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The head of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff told reporters a week ago that Exercise Keen Edge is not intended to target any specific country or region.
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In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducts a routine Taiwan Strait transit on Sunday, April 16, 2023 (AP)
A Sunday report from the Japanese news agency Kyodo revealed that the US and Japan are conducting joint military drills in which China is designated as their hypothetical adversary.
Government sources told the news agency that this year's iteration of the bilateral command-post "Exercise Keen Edge" deviates from conventional methods by employing unaltered maps of China. In the past, the allies had utilized maps with modified topography to prevent potential backlash in case the plans were inadvertently disclosed.
Scheduled from February 1 to 8, the ongoing exercise will be succeeded by the live-action Exercise Keen Sword around 2025. Reportedly, this subsequent activity will take into account the outcomes of the computer-simulated command-post drills to validate their effectiveness.
Last week, the head of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Yoshihide Yoshida told reporters that Exercise Keen Edge is not intended to target any specific country or region.
The drills are taking place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between China and the US concerning Taiwan.
In 2023, CIA director Bill Burns asserted that Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly ordered the Chinese military to make preparations for a potential "invasion" of the island by 2027.
Read more: Taiwan reunification is inevitable: China's Xi
During last year's largest-ever joint military exercises with Australia, the US reportedly utilized the opportunity to establish new reserves of equipment in the country in anticipation of a possible conflict with China over Taiwan, a report from Reuters asserted.
US officials, as per Reuters, disclosed that the war equipment was stored during the Talisman Sabre exercises conducted in July and August last year. These drills, encompassing more than 34,000 troops from 13 nations in and around Australia, were aimed at enhancing combat readiness and logistical capabilities.
The equipment utilized in the exercises comprised 330 vehicles and trailers, along with 130 containers stored in the southeastern region of Australia, as per Reuters.
In case of a conflict, this stockpile would be adequate to support approximately three logistics companies, totaling 500 or more soldiers. Alternatively, the equipment could be utilized in future drills or to respond to potential natural disasters.
Several officials interviewed by the news agency highlighted logistics as a vulnerability in the US military that China might exploit in a conflict.
They cautioned that tactics such as bombing refueling ships and jet fuel depots could enable Beijing to incapacitate Washington without directly confronting the majority of US forces.
