US military sends show of support to Japan as China’s navy, air drills continue
Japanese fighters train with US B-52s and USS George Washington arrives in Yokosuka amid heightened China-Japan tensions
Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) and the US military conducted the exercise “amid an increasingly severe security environment surrounding Japan”, Tokyo’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
“Through this exercise, we confirmed the strong commitment of Japan and the US to not allow unilateral changes to the status quo through force, as well as the readiness of the SDF and the US military, further strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-US alliance.”
According to the ministry, six Japanese fighter jets – evenly divided between F-35s and F-15s – joined two US B-52 aircraft to conduct “various tactical training” over the Sea of Japan, or East Sea.
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The Hawaii-based US Pacific Air Forces said on social media that “training together reaffirms our commitment to the US-Japan alliance and strengthens deterrence to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
Separately, the US naval base at Yokosuka said on Thursday that the nuclear-powered USS George Washington – with a crew of 4,820 – had arrived at the port “after completing training and patrol missions with allied and partner nations”.