KAGOSHIMA: Japan, the United States, and the Philippines wrapped up a week-long series of joint coast guard drills Friday with a simulated ship collision and rescue operation, reinforcing their maritime cooperation in a region fraught with tensions over China’s territorial claims.
The exercises, held off Japan’s southwestern coast, involved dozens of personnel and marked the second time the three nations have conducted such drills, following their inaugural exercise in the Philippines in 2023. Officials stressed the activities were not aimed at any specific nation, but echoed familiar diplomatic language used in reference to Beijing.
“This contributes to the realisation of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Hiroaki Odachi, head of Japan’s regional coast guard unit, reaffirming a common regional security mantra shared by Washington and its allies.
The drills take place amid escalating confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, and regular maritime standoffs between China and Japan in the East China Sea. Japan has recorded 214 consecutive days of Chinese vessels operating near the disputed Senkaku Islands — known as Diaoyu in China — just one day short of the previous record.
A 2024 joint statement by the three nations condemned China’s “dangerous and coercive” maritime tactics, signaling sharper collective resistance to unilateral changes to the status quo by force.
Experts warn that both maritime theatres — the East and South China Seas — have become potential flashpoints. “Persistent intrusion raises the risk of accidental confrontation,” said Daisuke Kawai of the University of Tokyo, noting that the trilateral coast guard framework improves maritime awareness and deters isolated pressure from China.
The joint drills follow a recent spike in tensions, including aerial close calls between Chinese and Japanese military aircraft and simultaneous sightings of China’s two aircraft carriers in the Pacific — interpreted by Tokyo as a sign of Beijing’s expanding military ambitions.
