HEADLINE- ASIA GEOPOLITICS | US, Japan and South Korea hold military drills
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AP – A United States (US) carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has held a two-day joint exercise with its allies Japan and South Korea as US President Joe Biden met for talks with leaders from Japan and the Philippines at the White House.
A number of US and South Korean guided missile destroyers and a Japanese warship joined the drills in the East China Sea.
Memento Maxima Digital MarketingCommander of Carrier Strike Group Nine Rear Admiral Christopher Alexander said the three nations conducted undersea warfare exercises, maritime interdiction operations, search and rescue drills and work focused on communication and data sharing.
He told journalists on Thursday on the Roosevelt that these drills would help improve communication among the US and its allies.
“It is a busy time; there is a lot going on in the world,” Alexander said, adding that “the significance of this exercise is 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 in the joint exercise was another sign of improving ties between the sometimes wary neighbours. The two US allies’ relationship has often been strained by the memory of Japan’s 35-year colonisation of the Korean Peninsula.
This week’s huge parliamentary election defeat of the governing party of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has sought better relations with Japan, could constrain his Japan-friendly efforts, but experts believe ties will remain stable.
The US-Japan-South Korea naval exercises follow four-way drills held in the South China Sea, where Japan joined the US, Australia and the Philippines. Participants said they were holding the exercises to safeguard a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific.
