US mixed signals leading Japan to broaden defence ties with eye on China: analysts
With navy drills and ship sales, Japan is strengthening security relations with Britain, Australia and other non-US allies, analysts note
Earlier this month, F-35B Lightning II fighters from the British Royal Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron conducted landings and launches on the Japanese destroyer-carrier JS Kaga as part of a multinational exercise in the Philippine Sea.
The British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, as well as the US Marine Corps, were present on the deck of the Kaga to assist with the flight operations, and two F-35Bs from US Marine Attack Squadron 242 also took part in the training, according to a statement from the British navy.
It was the first time that both British and US fighter jets conducted a landing and launching exercise from the Japanese warship.
The British navy said the nine-day big deck exercise was “a major show of allied strength in the Indo-Pacific”, involving a total of 11 ships and 23 aircraft from the US, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Spain and Norway.
Japan sees itself under tremendous threat given the rise in Chinese naval power and ... willingness to use that power
John Bradford, executive director of the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies and a retired US Navy officer, said the combined F-35 training laid the foundation for tactical integration and helped the UK become “more familiar with military geography around Japan”.