Japan joins SCS drills
- For the first time, Japan’s Self‑Defense Forces are participating in the annual Philippines‑US drills. - The exercise involves more than 17,000 troops and includes live‑fire drills near Taiwan and the South China Sea. - Commentators view Tokyo’s participation as a significant show of allied resolve amid rising Chinese maritime assertiveness ( ).
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces are taking part as full participants in the Philippines-US Balikatan drills for the first time this year. (imef.marines.mil) The 41st Balikatan runs from April 20 to May 8 across the Philippine archipelago with more than 17,000 personnel from the Philippines, the United States, Australia, Japan, Canada, France, and New Zealand. Another 17 countries are attending as observers. (imef.marines.mil) Japan’s Joint Staff said about 1,400 personnel are deploying, along with ships, transport aircraft, amphibious rescue aircraft, and Type 88 surface-to-ship missile systems. Tokyo said the exercise is the first time the Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement has been used for Japan to conduct field training with weapons on Philippine territory. (mod.go.jp, mofa.go.jp) The drills include maritime security, coastal defense, combined fires, anti-submarine warfare, and logistics moves from ship to shore. U.S., Philippine, Canadian, and Japanese warships are scheduled to train along the Philippines’ west coast. (imef.marines.mil, stripes.com) Some of the live-fire events are set in northern Luzon facing the Taiwan Strait and in waters off the western Philippines facing the South China Sea. Agence France-Presse reported Japan plans to use a Type 88 missile in a ship-sinking drill off northern Luzon. (firstpost.com, military.com) The timing follows two years of repeated confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels around Second Thomas Shoal and other South China Sea features. Manila has responded by widening defense cooperation with Washington and with partners including Tokyo. (gmanetwork.com, mofa.go.jp) U.S. officials have cast the exercise as a treaty signal as well as a training event. The U.S. Marine Corps said this year’s drills coincide with the 75th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty, and Lt. Gen. Christian Wortman said Washington’s commitment to Manila remains “ironclad.” (imef.marines.mil, gmanetwork.com) China has criticized the exercise. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said countries “should not target any third party” and warned that “those who play with fire will burn themselves,” according to reports cited by regional media. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said Friday that Balikatan is based on legal defense arrangements, not “geopolitical rivalry.” (thinkchina.sg, abs-cbn.com) For Japan, the shift is concrete: from observer status in Balikatan after first joining in 2012 to weapons training on Philippine soil in 2026. For the Philippines and the United States, it adds another allied military to a drill now spread across the sea lanes between the South China Sea and Taiwan. (mod.go.jp, imef.marines.mil)
