Japan¡¯s role in this year¡¯s Balikatan military exercises in the Philippines will be larger than anticipated, with the that the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) will deploy about 1,400 personnel, multiple warships and aircraft, along with anti-ship missile systems, later this month.
The scale and diversity of the contingent means that Japan will be the third-largest troop contributor to the biggest-ever iteration of the drills ¡ª which will run from April 20 to May 8 ¡ª following the Philippines and the United States. Personnel will be drawn from a broad cross-section of the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces, as well as cyber and medical units.
Facilitated by a visiting-forces agreement between Tokyo and Manila that came into force last September, the Japanese deployment underscores Tokyo¡¯s expanding security role in the region amid heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Concerns have risen in both countries over China¡¯s growing military capabilities and regional assertiveness.
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