The Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force personnel will participate in a parachute drop training in the Philippines’ northernmost island province of Batanes that faces Taiwan, Japanese and Philippine defense officials said Monday.
The free fall jump drill is set later this month as part of Kamandag, an annual exercise between the Philippine and the U.S. marines that also invites Japan and South Korea, as well as other countries as observers. This year’s iteration with over 2,200 participants runs until July 1.
The move underscores the growing defense ties between the Philippines and Japan amid China’s maritime assertiveness in the region and is likely to draw criticism from Beijing.
In a press conference at Monday’s opening ceremony, Brig. Gen. Bob Apostol of the Philippine Marine Corps said the exercise objective is “to evaluate our readiness to address any contingencies that would arise in this region.” He also said it is meant to enhance interoperability and intelligence-sharing among “partner” forces.
Apostol said Japanese defense force members will parachute from a Philippine military aircraft onto Batan Island, located about 200 kilometers from Taiwan. A Philippine Air Force official said they could use either a C-130 transport plane or a Black Hawk helicopter.
Batanes and Taiwan are separated by the Bashi Channel, a waterway critical to trade and commerce. The area is considered important in the event of a conflict with China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.
The Kamandag exercise will take place for the 10th time, with the Japanese Self-Defense Forces participating for the ninth time. The SDF had taken part in humanitarian support drills such as disaster rescue, but a bilateral reciprocal access agreement that came into force last year has paved the way for it to participate in more complex exercises.
Another drill during Kamandag involves an amphibious and airborne seizure of an airfield on the Manila-controlled island of Thitu off the Philippines’ west. Thitu is part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have overlapping territorial claims.
© KYODO
