Japanese navy drill in the South China Sea may lead to larger role in the region
Japan’s presence in what it considers international waters may be seen by Beijing as tacit support for ownership claims made by the Philippines
Watch: Japan surveillance plane flies over South China Sea
A tiny military exercise in the Philippines this week may presage something much bigger: the entry of Japan into the tussle for control of the South China Sea.
A Japanese surveillance plane and about 20 troops conducted the first of two days of joint training with the Philippine navy on Tuesday off the coast of Palawan, a strategically important island not far from contested islands claimed by several countries including China and the Philippines.
While the P-3C plane was being used for maritime search-and-rescue drills and disaster relief drills, the aircraft is also a mainstay of Japan’s anti-submarine and other aerial surveillance efforts. In theory, it could help the U.S. keep an eye on the Chinese navy in the South China Sea. Some experts think that’s a possibility in coming years.
“It’s likely we will see Japan doing joint surveillance and reconnaissance in the South China Sea in the coming years,” said Narushige Michishita, a defence expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. “It is going to be with the U.S., Australia, the Philippines and others.”
