Japan hosts coast guard drills with US and Philippines as sea tensions rise

TOKYO (AP) – Japan’s coast guard on Friday held a joint exercise with counterparts from the United States and the Philippines, as the three Pacific nations beef up defense cooperation in the face of China’s expanding maritime activities.

The exercise came after Japan confirmed that two Chinese aircraft carriers had operated together for the first time in the Pacific in June. Japan and China had blamed each other after Tokyo complained that a Chinese fighter jet from one of the carriers flew dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance aircraft.

Friday’s coast guard exercise just off Japan’s southern prefecture of Kagoshima involved 350 personnel from the three countries, and was based on a scenario of a collision between vessels at high seas, a fire and crew members falling overboard.

The three nation’s leaders last year agreed to bolster maritime cooperation, as they expressed concern over Beijing’s military maneuvers in the region. Their first joint drills were held in the Philippines in 2023.

The coast guard cooperation is part of an effort to secure a “free and open” Indo-Pacific by promoting mutual understanding and trust, Japan coast guard commander Adm. Yoshio Seguchi told a news conference Wednesday.

China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, and recently as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Beijing also sends coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, which it claims virtually in its entirety, clashing frequently with Philippine vessels.