Japan stages military exercises off disputed islands
Iran Press TV
Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:18PM GMT
Japan's military is holding military drills at the foothills of Mount Fuji to showcase its ability to defend or retake islands in and around the disputed East China Sea.
On Tuesday, the military began large-scale annual 'Fire Power' exercises, which last until Sunday. Defense officials said the exercises are first-of-its-kind display of tactics and equipment that the East Asian nation's military could use to repel a hypothetical invasion of the far-off islands.
The maneuvers involved some 60 Japanese military aircraft, including Apache attack helicopters. The exercises also included 80 battle tanks and armored vehicles and some 2,300 troops from Japan's Self Defense Forces.
Some 14,000 spectators watched as Apache helicopters struck imaginary enemy positions. Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters then swooped in to land elite Japanese troops, who dropped via ropes.
On July 1, Japan's cabinet approved a landmark change in security policy, easing constitutional constraints that have kept its military forces from fighting overseas since World War II.
The cabinet endorsed a reinterpretation of the country's constitution that allowed the military to help defend allies and others "in a close relationship" with Japan under what is known as "collective self-defense."
"Peace is not something you expect to be given, but it's something that we must achieve on our own,'' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told journalists after the change was approved.
Both Japan and China are building up their militaries, with each accusing the other of growing assertiveness, particularly in a dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
MP/KA
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