Japanese forces drill with allies after Russia-China naval exercises

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force on Tuesday said one of its destroyers, the JS Sazanami conducted low-level joint drills with the air force of Seychelles, a small country of islands off East Africa. The drills followed joint exercises recently between Russia and China’s navies. Russian and Chinese officials conducted the drills to improve their navies’ abilities to cooperate with one another, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

The joint exercise between the JS Sazanami and the Seychelles Air Force focused primarily on helping Tokyo’s navy work better with its allies’ air forces, Japan’s maritime force said on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara met with Australian Vice Admiral Mark David Hammond. The increased naval cooperation of the two countries was reassuring, Kihara told Hammond. He added that he hoped Japan and Australia would continue to deepen their maritime cooperation.

What did the China-Russia exercises include? The exercises featured helicopter landings and maritime inspection drills. The two countries deemed them successful, Xinhua reported on Monday.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about Japan and the Philippines increasing their military cooperation amid the growing threat of China.