Japanese Self-Defense Forces ‘repel the invasion of Taiwan’ Landing exercises Korea-US-Japan system Korean Peninsula ‘Japan-led naval expansion’
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces, led by the Marine Corps, unveiled a 'mock attack to repulse the Chinese invasion of Taiwan' on the 19th through landing exercises on the southwestern island, and South Korea held an NSC meeting on the 20th to respond to North Korea's launch of a reconnaissance satellite, with the president going to the UK due to the annulment of the inter-Korean military agreement.
With the resumption of China's military activities in the Taiwan Strait, which had been temporarily suspended until the US-China summit held in San Francisco on the 15th, it is turning into an arms race between China and Japan.
The Voice of America (VOA) stated on the 18th that regarding Korea's procedure of 'abrogation' of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement, "As interoperability between Korea, the United States and Japan expands to the navy, Japan's role in joint response to emergencies on the Korean Peninsula will increase."
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said on the 19th that nine aircraft, including the Chinese Air Force's Su-30 J-10 fighter aircraft, early warning aircraft, and electronic warfare aircraft, crossed the midline of the Taiwan Strait starting this morning, and Chinese warships conducted "combat readiness patrols" around Taiwan. It was announced that China's military activities had resumed.
North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said, "We are developing high-output solid fuel engines for a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile and will conduct the first ground eruption test of the first-tier engine on November 11 and the first ground eruption test of the second-tier engine on November 14. “The work was carried out successfully,” it was reported on the 15th.
The Japanese Marine Corps' mock attack, conducted under the observation of reporters, was the final exercise of the National Self-Defense Forces' 11-day long training on the southwestern island of Tokunoshima aboard an amphibious assault vehicle.
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida warned that East Asia could become the next Ukraine if China, emboldened by Russia's attacks on its neighbor, attacks Taiwan, Reuters reported on the 19th.
Reuters reported that “the raid on an island beach on the edge of the East China Sea was carried out in a mock attack aimed at driving the invaders from territory that Tokyo fears is vulnerable to Chinese attack” and that “tensions with neighbors China, Russia and North Korea were heightened.” “Amid heightened tensions, the exercise, held on the southwestern island of Tokunoshima, concludes an 11-day nationwide exercise called 05JX to demonstrate the readiness of the army, navy and air force to defend Japan's territory and infrastructure, including nuclear power plants.” .
The landing exercise involved the Ground Self-Defense Force landing assault vehicle sortied from two Maritime Self-Defense Force landing ships anchored at sea, other units landed on semi-inflatable rubber boats, and heavy equipment landed on the coast on military hovercraft.
Soldiers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) on Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, participated in maritime landing exercises as part of the nationwide 05JX military exercise, Reuters reported.
“The goal of JX is to show that we can jointly respond when an emergency situation arises due to an attack,” General Yoshihide Yoshida, Chief of Staff of the Self-Defense Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters after observing the Tokunoshima exercise.
"Unlike many beaches along Japan's southwestern islands that stretch toward Taiwan, the beaches on Tokunoshima have no coral reefs that could make military operations more difficult," Reuters said of the island's amphibious training site.
Regarding the strengthening of military training in Japan, Reuters said, “Since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last December the largest military expansion since World War II along with a pledge to double defense spending over the next five years, military training in Japan has increased. “Range and speed are expected to increase in the coming years, including for the U.S. military.”
The National Security Office announced on the 20th that it held a standing committee meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to examine the possibility of provocations and countermeasures, including North Korea's preparations for launching a "reconnaissance satellite."
President Yoon Seok-yeol left the country on this day to visit Britain and France.
Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik appeared on KBS TV on the 19th and said, "I cannot reveal the source, but according to the analysis of our defense intelligence agency, (the expected launch of a North Korean satellite) is around the end of November. This still remains valid," and said, "The military will be announced as early as this week." It was announced that a third launch of a 'reconnaissance satellite' will be attempted. Kang Ho-pil, head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operations Division, said in a statement on the 20th, "If North Korea goes ahead with the launch of a military reconnaissance satellite despite our warning, our military will guarantee the lives and safety of the people. “We will take the necessary measures to do so,” he said.
Prime Minister Kishida told reporters after a 65-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in San Francisco on the 16th, "We agreed to find a way to resolve the dispute through meetings and dialogue in a constructive manner."
A Japanese official told Reuters on the 16th that Prime Minister Kishida and President Xi had reached an agreement to build a stable and constructive relationship, saying, “A vague agreement was reached to alleviate the dispute over the ban on Japanese seafood in China.”
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 19th that it was "dispatching its own troops to monitor" nine aircraft, including Chinese fighter jets, accompanying a Chinese warship and crossing the unofficial barrier between the two straits, which are border lines.
In its assessment of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement, which South Korea is considering suspending, the U.S. State Department's Voice of America (VOA) stated, “South Korea has no obligation to comply with North Korea's violations as violations continue to be reported,” and “South Korea, the United States, and Japan interoperability is lacking.” It was reported on the 18th that Christopher Johnstone (CSIS Japan Chair) and Scott Snyder (Director of Korea-U.S. Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations) predicted, “By expanding to the Navy, Japan’s role in joint response to emergencies on the Korean Peninsula will increase.”