{"id":19870,"date":"2021-05-16T15:41:13","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T15:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/16\/japan-us-france-hold-military-drill-eyeing-china-presence\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:18:10","slug":"japan-us-france-hold-military-drill-eyeing-china-presence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2021\/05\/16\/japan-us-france-hold-military-drill-eyeing-china-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan, US, France hold military drill eyeing China presence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KIRISHIMA TRAINING AREA, Japan \u2014 Dozens of Japanese, American and French troops landed amid pouring rain from a CH-47 transport helicopter onto a grassy field at a training area in southern Japan, part of Saturday\u2019s joint scenario of defending a remote island from an enemy invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three nations\u2019 first joint drills on Japanese soil<\/a> \u2014 dubbed \u201cARC21\u201d and which began Tuesday \u2014 come as they seek step up military ties amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A Chinook helicopter flies over a field during a joint military drill between the Japan Self-Defense Force, the French Army and U.S. Marines at the Kirishima Training Area in Ebino, Japan, May 15, 2021. (Charly Triballeau\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Japanese soldiers and their counterparts from the French Army and the U.S. Marine Corps also conducted an urban warfare drill using a concrete building elsewhere at the Japanese Self-Defense Force<\/a>\u2019s Kirishima Training Area in the southern Miyazaki prefecture. Around 200 troops took part in Saturday\u2019s exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday, the three countries were also joined by Australia in an expanded naval exercise involving 11 warships in the East China Sea, where tensions with China are rising around the island of Taiwan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS New Orleans (LPD 18), joined by the Royal Australian Navy\u2019s Anzac-class frigate HMAS Parramatta (FFH 154), the French Navy\u2019s amphibious assault helicopter carrier FS Tonnerre (L9014), and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force\u2019s \u014csumi class tank landing ship JS \u014csumi, transit together during exercise Jeanne D\u2019Arc 21 (ARC-21), off the coast of Kagoshima, Japan, May 14, 2021. (Lance Cpl. Justin J. Marty\/Marine Corps)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The drills come as Japan looks to bolster its military capabilities amid a deepening territorial row with China in regional seas. Japan is increasingly concerned about Chinese activity in and around Japanese-claimed waters surrounding the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which Beijing also claims and calls Diaoyu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the end of World War II, Japan\u2019s constitution has limited the use of force to self defense. Japan in recent years has continued to expand its military role, capability and budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\t