TOKYO,10 DECEMBER 2018 (YOMIURI SHIMBUN) – To counter China’s growing maritime advances in the Pacific, the government intends to actively dispatch Air Self-Defense Force planes to Pacific island nations to promote exchanges with locals in those countries, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The latest move is in line with the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proclaimed.
On Friday, an ASDF C-130 transport aircraft was expected to stop at Majuro, in the Marshall Islands, on the way to Arizona, where it is scheduled to take part in a joint drill with the U.S. military to practice air transport tactics.
The plane is taking wheelchairs and sports gear, among other donations from a Japanese nongovernmental organisation, to the Pacific island country.
It is the first time for an ASDF carrier to stop in a third country for the purpose of cultural exchange and related events on the way to a drill, according to sources.
The Marshall Islands was under Japan’s mandate during World War II. After the end of the war, the United States assumed administrative control of the islands under the auspices of the United Nations as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. This continued until 1986 when the islands became independent.
In time for a ceremony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Japan, which was scheduled to be held on Saturday, the items transported by the C-130 will be donated to the country.
The three island nations in the Pacific — the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau — have in place the Compact of Free Association with the United States, under which the United States takes charge of their national defence.
The three nations are located near Guam, which is the U.S. military’s stronghold for nuclear-powered submarines and strategic bombers. Washington therefore sees them as important strategic military points.
In December, the ASDF will also take part in Operation Christmas Drop in which participating planes drop food and other relief goods in Micronesia and Palau as part of a drill.
Ahead of this drill, a Maritime Self-Defence Force vessel and a Japan Coast Guard patrol ship have already visited countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific for strategic port calls to carry out exchanges with local militaries and coast guards. ASDF planes plan to promote similar exchanges with such groups.
The Marshall Islands and Palau have diplomatic ties with Taiwan. China has been deepening its relations with some Pacific nations by aggressively using economic aid as leverage.
Under such circumstances, the United States is very wary of China’s campaign in the region, and thus “strongly hopes for the deepening of ties between Japan and Pacific nations,” said a Japanese government source.
