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U.S., Japan hold joint flight drills as China ups military activity near Japan

admin — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 02:28:00 +0000

The 6th Air Wing of Japan Air Self-Defence Force’s F-15 fighters hold a joint military drill with the U.S. B-52 bombers over Sea of Japan, in this handout picture taken by Japan Air Self-Defence Force and on December 10, 2025, and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defence Ministry of Japan on December 11, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. strategic bombers joined a fleet of Japanese fighter jets in a joint military exercise meant to demonstrate their military cooperation around Japan’s airspace, defence officials said on Thursday (December 11, 2025), as tensions with China escalate.

The exercise showcasing joint Japanese-U.S. air power came a day after Chinese and Russian bombers flew together around western Japan, prompting Tokyo to scramble fighter jets, though there was no airspace violation. It also follows China’s military aircraft locking radar on Japanese jets on Saturday (December 6, 2025), another incident that has caused Tokyo-Beijing relations to further deteriorate.

Early Friday (December 12, 2025), Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, held telephone talks on “increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident,” the Japanese Defence Ministry said in a statement. It did not mention the flight drills.

It said the Ministers expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as “China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability.” Mr. Koizumi reiterated that Japan will firmly and steadily continue surveillance and monitoring activities in the airspace and waters surrounding the country.

Japan’s Air Self Defence-Force and the US military conducted the joint exercise Wednesday (December 10, 2025) as “the security environment surrounding our country is becoming even severer,” the Japanese Joint Staff said.

It said the allies “reaffirmed the strong resolve to prevent unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force and the readiness between the SDF and the U.S. forces.”

Two US B-52 strategic bombers and three Japanese F-35 stealth fighter jets and three F-15 jets conducted their joint flight drills near Japan’s western airspace, above the waters between the country and South Korea, officials said.

Exercises held as the security environment grows more tense.

The Joint Staff denied that the exercise was conducted in response to a specific incident, but acknowledged Chinese military aircraft’s recent radar-locking on Japanese jets and the China-Russia joint bomber exercises on Tuesday (December 9, 2025) as examples of a worsening security environment around Japan.

Relations between Japan and China have deteriorated after Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in early November that Japan’s military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own.

The row escalated over the weekend when separate Chinese drills involving a carrier near southern Japan prompted Tokyo to scramble jets and to protest that Japanese aircraft were targeted by repeated radar-locking — a move considered as possible preparation for firing.

Tokyo protested to Beijing, asking for an explanation and preventive measures. China denied the allegation and accused Japanese jets of interfering and endangering the Chinese exercise.

Washington stressed its “unwavering” alliance with Japan, saying the incident was not “conducive to regional peace and stability.”

The exercise came one day after Chinese and Russian strategic bombers conducted joint long-distance flight from the waters between Japan and South Korea down to the Pacific, the Joint Staff said.

Two Russian strategic bombers Tu-95 that flew down from the airspace east of the Korean Peninsula joined a pair of Chinese H-6 bombers over the East China Sea for a joint flight down to the Pacific off the southern coast of Japan’s Shikoku island.

The four bombers were also joined by four Chinese J-16 fighters as they flew back and forth between two Japanese southwestern islands Okinawa and Miyako, the area where China is expanding its military presence.

Published – December 12, 2025 07:58 am IST

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US defense secretary in Japan to support alliance as Osprey aircraft safety causes concern

admin — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 05:14:32 +0000

Austin’s visit also came amid growing concerns over the safety of Osprey military aircraft, which have been grounded in the United States following a near crash at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico last month. File
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with officials in Japan on Tuesday (December 11, 2024) to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington’s commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea.

Austin also stressed that U.S. trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Seoul is crucial for regional stability even as South Korea is in political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law last week.

The U.S. measure prompted Japan to also ground its Ospreys. After confirming details with the U.S. military, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force has suspended operations of its 17 Ospreys, except for possible disaster relief and other missions, beginning Tuesday to prioritize safety, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

During their meeting, Austin and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba noted the collapse of the Syrian government and praised the strength of the Japan-U.S. alliance at a time of rapid global political change.

“The world can change drastically in a week,” Ishiba told Austin, referring to political unrest in South Korea and Syria.

The U.S. defense chief, whose term ends in January when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, told Ishiba that he appreciated the steady alliance with Japan during “very dynamic times” and that he was proud of the modernization of alliance command and control, strengthening of force posture and deterrence capabilities over the past several years.

Austin later met with Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani and noted China’s “coercive behavior” in the East and South China Seas, North Korean support for Russia’s war in Ukraine as growing challenges.

Austin underlined U.S. commitment “to advancing our historic trilateral cooperation” with South Korea. Washington’s commitment of “extended deterrence,” including its nuclear umbrella, to Japan and South Korea is “iron clad,” he added.

Nakatani earlier told reporters that cooperation between Japan and the U.S., as well as with South Korea and other partners, is important as tensions escalate in the region.

The trilateral partnership between Japan, the U.S. and South Korea has significantly strengthened under President Joe Biden’s administration, but faces new uncertainty amid ongoing political unrest in South Korea, which already led to the cancellation of Austin’s planned trip to that country.

Earlier Tuesday, Austin greeted crew members of the USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered flagship aircraft carrier docked at the U.S. Navy base in Yokosuka, near Tokyo.

Austin stressed the importance of U.S. cooperation with allies and partners in the region as he singled out China as the only country in the world with the intent and capability to change the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

“We want to see this region remain open to freedom of navigation and the ability to fly the skies in international airways,” Austin was quoted as saying on the Defense Department’s website.

“We will work with allies and partners to ensure we can do just that,” he added.

The U.S. carrier, which is under maintenance in Yokosuka, will carry the advanced F-35C stealth combat aircraft squadron currently based in the Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Yamaguchi.

Published – December 11, 2024 10:44 am IST

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