Japan-US-Philippines Joint Maritime Defense Exercise, Simulating Crisis Response
The maritime defense departments of Japan, the United States, and the Philippines held a joint exercise this week. This is the second time that the three countries have conducted such joint drills since 2023.
According to AFP, Japan, the United States, and the Philippines held a five-day joint maritime defense exercise, which ended on Friday, in the sea area near Kagoshima City along the southwestern coast of Japan.
This is the second time the three countries have carried out such cooperation; the first joint maritime exercise was held in the Philippines in 2023.
Dozens of people participated in this week's drill. On the last day, Friday, each side dispatched one coast guard vessel: the Philippines sent the patrol ship Teresa Magbanua, the United States sent the cutter Stratton, and Japan deployed the patrol boat Shianagi.
The exercise concluded with a simulated "person overboard" rescue scenario: after a dummy dressed in bright red life jackets was thrown into the water, an American drone took off from the Stratton and searched for the location of the person in the air. Subsequently, the Philippine coast guard ship released a rescue boat, quickly heading toward the dummy and rescuing it onto the ship. The day's exercise also simulated ship collisions, helicopter rescues of people in the water, and firefighting on ships.
AFP reported that although relevant officials said this exercise was not aimed at any specific country, the language used by officials was the same as the terms commonly used by the United States and its allies to refer to China. Naofumi津村, head of the Japanese Coast Guard, stated that this exercise "deepened mutual understanding and trust among the three countries" and "especially strengthened coordination and cooperation among the three parties."
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835537424050436/
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