April 12, 2024 10:43 am | Updated 10:43 am IST – On USS Theodore Roosevelt
An F-18E fighter jet prepares to take off from the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, April 11, 2024, during a three-day joint naval exercise by the US, Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea amid tensions between China and North Korea. . | Image Credit: AP
A US carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt conducted a three-day joint exercise with its allies Japan and South Korea, as US President Joe Biden held talks with the leaders of Japan and the Philippines at the White House.
Dueling military and diplomatic maneuvers are intended to strengthen the partners' solidarity in the face of China's aggressive military actions in the region.
Several US and South Korean guided-missile destroyers and a Japanese warship joined the April 10-12 drill in the disputed East China Sea, where concerns over China's territorial claims are rising. Associated Press One of several news organizations that allowed a front-line look at the drills.
Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, said the three nations conducted undersea warfare exercises, maritime interdiction operations, search and rescue drills, and work focused on communication and data sharing.
The drills will help improve communication between the United States and its allies and “better prepare us for a crisis in the region,” he told reporters at the Roosevelt on April 11. F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jets took off from the carrier's flight deck, along with MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters. Journalists were flown for more than an hour from Kadena Air Base, the hub of US Pacific air power. Kadena is located on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, home to about half of the 50,000 American troops stationed in Japan.
“It's a busy time; There's a lot going on in the world,” Mr. Alexander said. “The significance of this exercise is that we have three like-minded countries, three like-minded navies that believe in peace, security and stability in the Western Pacific.”
The participation of Japan and South Korea is another sign of improving relations between the sometimes wary neighbors. Relations between the two US allies have often been strained by the memory of Japan's half-century of colonization of the Korean peninsula. Washington is urging them to cooperate so the three partners can better deal with threats from China and North Korea.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's ruling party, which has sought better ties with Japan, could face a massive parliamentary election defeat this week to curb his Japan-friendly efforts, but experts believe ties remain stable.
The latest naval exercise is part of Mr Biden's work to deepen security and diplomatic engagement with Indo-Pacific nations. Mr. Biden invited Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to the White House for their first trilateral talks on April 11 and declared that the US defense commitment to Pacific allies is “ironclad”.
Tensions have risen between China and the Philippines following repeated clashes between the two nations' coast guard vessels in the disputed South China Sea. Chinese coast guard ships also regularly approach disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands near Taiwan.
Beijing has defended its operations in the South China Sea and blamed the United States for creating tensions. Chinese President Xi Jinping held a series of talks this week with senior officials from Vietnam, Russia and Taiwan.
The US-Japan-South Korea naval exercises follow four-way exercises held in the South China Sea, where Japan joined the United States, Australia and the Philippines. Participants carefully avoided mentioning China and said they were holding the exercises to safeguard a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific.
An area of long-standing disputes, the South China Sea is an important sea route for global trade. Concerned governments include Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Taiwan.