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Kinling Lo

China has described the military exercises in southern Japan involving troops and hardware from France, Japan, the United States and Australia as a waste of fuel, but observers say they may signal a tightening of the US alliance in the region.
The week-long air, land and sea exercises, named Arc-21, began on Tuesday at the Kirishima training area on the Kyushu peninsula and simulate different scenarios such as defending remote islands and intercepting vessels at sea.
At a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the drills had “no impact” on China.
“Does [anyone think] this joint drill aimed at putting pressure on China would really frighten China?” she said.


“Among these four countries, there are those that have developed a nature of aggression and invasion as we can tell from history,” she said.
“Instead of doing some self-reflection and using their power to contribute to regional peace, they target China as an excuse to strengthen military behaviour. What is their intention?
“This so-called joint drill has no impact at all on China, it only costs them fuel. I hope they will use the time and resources for their own countries, and contribute more to the fighting the coronavirus pandemic in their respective countries and the world,” she said.
The exercise is a first for France in Japan but comes amid a flurry of military activity involving the US and its allies in the region, including in the South China Sea and East China Sea, where Beijing has overlapping territorial claims with several of its neighbours.

Tokyo has boosted its military alliance with Washington in recent months as its spat with Beijing over rights to the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea has escalated.
Two French naval vessels – the helicopter carrier Tonnerre and the frigate Surcouf – are taking part in the drills, which also involve troops from Japan’s Ground Self-Defence Force and US Marines, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defence. A single Australian vessel is also taking part.
Liu Zongyi, an associate research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said he believed France would increase its military alignment with the US in the region.


In its “Strategic Update 2021”, the French defence ministry said last month it had witnessed a “resumption of strategic and military competition by both China and Russia”, and described the Indo-Pacific as a “theatre of profound strategic changes” in which France “must imperatively maintain a geostrategic reach in line with current developments and its ambitions”.
“However, I see much of France’s latest involvement being out of wanting to assert its role as a relevant geopolitical power in the region when there are so many military happenings, and a way to enhance its position in the Western world,” Liu said.
“As of now, the French involvement has not been in anything that gets it involved in territorial disputes in the Diaoyus or the South China Sea. Therefore it would not be too concerning [for China].”
China, Indonesia hold joint naval exercises near Jakarta
In April, France led a naval exercise with “Quad” members – the US, Japan, Australia and India – which led to suggestions the group – which Beijing has described as a security risk and an “Indo-Pacific Nato” – might be expanding.
Beijing-based military analyst Zhou Chenming, however, said he did not expect France’s involvement in regional drills to become a regular thing.
“I do not see it as a military provocation, it is more of a kind of political pressure and showdown, which does not solve any real problem but complicates the geopolitical situation” he said.
“It is just one of those exercises that the US and Japan want to show off the support of their allies.”
Additional reporting by Catherine Wong


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The helicopter carrier Tonnerre is one of two French naval vessels involved in the joint exercises in Japan. Photo: Twitter

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The Surcouf will station itself in the East China Sea. Photo: Twitter

File photo taken in September 2012 shows the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Taiwan and China claim the uninhabited islands as their own. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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‘Instead of using their power to contribute to regional peace, they target China,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says
‘This so-called joint drill has no impact at all on China, it only costs them fuel,’ she says



‘Instead of using their power to contribute to regional peace, they target China,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says.


South China Sea

East China Sea

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