Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) conducted a parachute drop training at the Narashino Training Area in Chiba Prefecture on January 8, and paratroopers from the US, UK and Australia also participated in the training, according to Japanese media reports. Japan has recently held many joint military exercises and carried out frequent defense exchanges and cooperation with European and American countries. This trend of violating the "exclusively defensive defense" principle and seeking offensive military power deserves the attention of the international community.
It is reported that around 1,000 GSDF personnel and about 100 American, British, and Australian soldiers participated in this military exercise. It is an actual combat drill aimed at handling the incidents on the so-called "Senkaku Islands" (Diaoyu Islands and its affiliated islands). Yin Zhuo, a military observer, believes that the scale of this exercise is not large, and Japan intends to bank on the support of the US, UK and Australia to embolden itself.
The drill claimed to "take back the outlying islands". In addition to the four main islands that make up the Japanese mainland, Japan has more than 6,800 islands and they are all called outlying islands. The largest outlying island is the Ryukyu Islands with Okinawa at its core. Japan counts the Diaoyu Islands as part of the Ryukyu Islands. Now, Japan feels a lack of strength in the direction of the Diaoyu Islands and that is the reason why it is trying its best to pull the US to this area.
Paratroopers from the British and Australian armies participated in the drill for the first time. According to Yin's analysis, Britain and Australia's participation aims to pledge allegiance to the US and demonstrate the political posture of following the US.
Japan's parachute drills, especially the annual drill that has been based on the scenario of retaking a remote island, have nothing to do with the UK or Australia. The participation of those two countries is to show their support for Japan and their allegiance to the US.
Yin pointed out that the new Australian government follows the US as its predecessor did in terms of s ecurity. After Brexit, the UK strove to restore its status as a major European power and its special relationship with the US and firmly sided with the US on Asia-Pacific security issues. The UK and Australia have limited military power and lack the capability to project large ships, so they can't do much for Japan on the Diaoyu Islands. However, the two countries will take more military actions in the Asia-Pacific region in the future to support the US and Japan.
The Japanese government adopted a new version of the National Security Strategy and other security policy documents at the end of 2022. Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida went to Europe and North America to carry out intensive diplomacy. Yin believes that Japan's recent actions aim to seek international support for its new security documents, which further exposed its ambitions for offensive military power and "national normalization."
Japan's Fumio Kishida government is eager to amend the pacifist constitution and persuade the US and other Western allies to support Japan's pursuit of greater military strategic autonomy, thereby helping Japan take an important step towards becoming a political power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Japan's strategy is to develop into a "normal country" while strengthening its own military offensive capabilities. Japan is trying to achieve this goal through “sausage cutting” tactics and “frog-boiling effect”.
Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
