From the sinking of a mock enemy ship to counterlanding drills in areas nearest Taiwan, Japan played an unprecedented role in the latest Balikatan exercises in the Philippines, highlighting Tokyo¡¯s expanding role in the regional security architecture amid rising tensions.
The three weeks of drills, which concluded Friday, marked the return of Japanese combat-capable forces to the Philippines for the first time since World War II ¡ª not as occupiers, but as close partners in one of the largest and most complex iterations of the annual exercises to date.
While Japan had sent observers since 2012, its role in this year¡¯s exercises marked a significant shift, with the SDF deploying about 1,400 personnel ¡ª roughly 10 times last year¡¯s level ¡ª alongside warships, aircraft and anti-ship missile systems. They trained with some 15,600 troops from seven other countries, including the United States, the Philippines and Australia.
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