Japan, US commence joint island defense drill in Kyushu, Okinawa

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force and the US Marine Corps commenced the Resolute Dragon field exercise for island defense skills Saturday that will continue through June 30 across the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan and Okinawa Prefecture, "The Daily Baku" informs via Japan Today.

The GSDF plans to deploy V-22 Osprey transport aircraft based at Camp Saga to Miyako Island in Okinawa for the first time for training to transport casualties from the island to the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa Island.

Lt Gen Seiji Toriumi, commanding general of the GSDF Western Army, said at an opening ceremony at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto Prefecture that demonstrating defense capabilities "is very important for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."

Chinese vessels have repeatedly intruded into Japanese waters around the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, that lie in the East China Sea around 200 kilometers from Miyako Island.

Type 10 tanks will participate in the exercise at the Hijudai training range in Oita Prefecture but will refrain from firing their main guns after a tank drill there in April left four people dead or injured.