The US and Japan are teaming up
For a massive naval drill
And China is the reason
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
Japan and the United States are doing joint military drills!
You know, there’s been a lot of news about military operations lately.
I wonder if that says anything about where global China relations are headed?
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So these drills are obviously all about China. Carl Schuster,
a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center,
said “The large-scale exercises have strong ‘deterrent value’ toward China.”
The drill is known as Keen Sword 21.
Uhh, that’s the official name, but not the official branding.
These drills between the US and Japan have happened every 2 years for the past 30 years.
They involve dozens of warships, hundreds of aircraft and 46,000
soldiers, sailors and marines from Japan and the United States.
And in 2020, for the first time, it will include cyber and electronic warfare training.
Japan’s biggest warship, the Kaga, was joined by the US aircraft carrier the USS Ronald Reagan.
The Kaga will be refitted to be able to carry the F-35
stealth fighter jet within the next two years.
That follows a 23 billion-dollar sale back in July for 147 F-35s to Japan.
The fighter jets supplement Japan’s homemade fighting force, obviously.
Now there are a couple key things to keep in mind about these joint naval drills.
Number 1—this is the first big US Japan military drill since Japan got its new prime minister,
Yoshihide Suga. And there were concerns that maybe he wouldn’t carry through on
the tough-on-China policies that his predecessor, Shinzo Abe believed in.
That’s looking like it won’t be an issue. According to Reuters,
Suga has vowed “to continue [Japan’s] military build-up aimed at countering China.”
Earlier last month, Suga sent three vessels to
the South China Sea in an anti-submarine exercise—also aimed at countering China.
Plus, Suga has been meeting with countries in Southeast Asia,
like Vietnam and Indonesia—also to counter China.
You see, Japan and all these countries surrounding the South China Sea have something in common.
Territorial disputes with China.
Which brings me to my 2nd big point. China claims pretty much the entire South China Sea.
China also claims islands in the East China Sea that Japan says belongs to
Japan. These are the Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu Islands as they’re known in China.
This month, China sent two Coast Guard ships into these disputed waters.
“It marked the 21st time this year that Chinese boats have entered Japanese waters.”
So China has become more and more aggressive. That seems to be the theme of the year, doesn’t it?
Japan has a mutual defense treaty with the United States. So
in the event of a Chinese attack, the US is obligated to respond. Hence
military drills, where the two militaries practice working together.
“Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of US Forces Japan,
said the exercises would demonstrate the ability of the US-Japan alliance ‘to deliver combat troops
to defend the Senkakus or respond to other crises or contingencies.’"
So yeah, these drills are specifically related to the disputed islands.
Back in July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
“included the Senkakus dispute as one of the areas in the Indo-Pacific where he said China
was ‘instigating territorial disputes’ as part of a pattern of “bullying” its Asian neighbors.
Which in a way, is kind of ironic. The Chinese Communist Party is using
these strongman tactics against all its neighbors to seem tough. But the result is
all China’s neighbors are now getting into alliances aimed at countering
China. So it actually puts China in a weaker position than if they just hadn’t done anything.
Speaking of which:
This month, the US and Japan will be joining India and Australia for even more joint military drills.
Those are called the Malabar drilling ls. And these four countries have an alliance known as
the Quad—a regional alliance geared toward countering the Chinese Communist Party.
Now maybe all these joint military drills are leaving you feeling a bit
anxious. Like something bad’s going to happen. Well don’t worry. “In coordination with public
health and military medical personnel, every aspect of Keen Sword is continually being assessed
to ensure appropriate Covid-19 mitigation measures are taken.”
That’s what you were worried about, right?
Of course China doesn’t want to feel left out while everybody is doing joint military drills.
So China is doing their own joint military drills. With themselves.
“China’s People’s Liberation Army is in the midst of two sets of military exercises in the
Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, according to a posting on the PLA’s official English language website.
The nature of the exercises was not disclosed.”
And China would just like to remind you, “its intentions in the region are peaceful.”
Great! Nothing to worry about then.
And now, it’s time for me to answer another question from one of you,
a fan who supports China Uncensored on the crowd funding website Patreon.
Tim Ellington asks “Since Covid began I've been waiting for the national media to go
back to paying attention to the Hong Kong protests but they seem distracted. What a lucky accident
for the CCP! Wait - was it an accident? Am I turning into a conspiracy theorist now?
Well Tim, I can tell you the Chinese Communist Party has
definitely used the coronavirus to its advantage in Hong Kong.
Obviously while the coronavirus lockdown was in effect,
mass protests like this two million person march we went to last year became impossible.
And while things were in lockdown, a wave of arrests happened.
These included “prominent pro-democracy figures in politics, civil society and the media”.
The CCP also never really liked that Hong Kong holds an
annual memorial for the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Well this year, because of the coronavirus, you know, Hong Kong officials banned the gathering.
But that only fueled more resentment towards the Chinese Communist Party.
Which I’m sure will have a big impact on Hong Kong legislative council elections.
Except...those were also postponed for a year over virus concerns.
Does that mean it's a conspiracy? Well, I prefer to think the Chinese Communist
Party is just filled with optimists! When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When
life gives you a deadly global pandemic that you caused, take away Hong Kong's freedoms.
Thanks for your question, Tim. If that is your real name.
And thank you for watching. Remember, it's hard for us to keep this show running.
There’s not a lot of money in criticizing China.
Which is why we rely on your support on the crowd funding website Patreon. For as little as
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Once again I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.