Foreign
Japan, U.S. to conduct major military drill from Nov. 10
Defence Ministr
Japanese Defence Ministry, on Friday said Japan and the United States would conduct a joint military exercise from Nov. 10, as countries are increasingly wary of China’s growing military might and assertiveness.
Keen Sword
The drill, dubbed Keen Sword, takes place biennially around Japan.
Some 36,000 personnel, 30 vessels, and 370 aircraft from Japan’s Self-defence Forces and the U.
S. military will participate in this year’s exercise, which will run till Nov. 19.
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that “by demonstrating Japan’s and the United States’ strong will and coordination, we aim to contribute to defending Japan and securing peace and safety of the region.
’’
The ministry said besides the two Pacific allies, Canada will be dispatching two vessels, while Australia and Britain will each send one warship to the drill.
Locations of the field training include Japan’s southwestern islands including Tokunoshima, which is closer to Taipei than to Tokyo.
Communist Party
At a Communist Party meeting that started on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating China’s plans to build a world-class military and said his country would never renounce the right to use force to resolve the Taiwan issue.
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, while Taiwan’s government strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s 23 million people can decide its future.
NewsSourceCredit: NAN
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/URC3YUIOAVJZXAJF577UHIUFCI.jpg "Rio Tinto apologises for loss of tiny radioactive capsule in Australian outback")
