The United States and Japan are leveraging joint military exercises to forge a multilateral alliance with Taiwan and the Philippines, according to an expert, cementing the Indo-Pacific deterrent that Beijing fears most.
The U.S. Marine Corps and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) launched Resolute Dragon 26 at Camp Kengun in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture on June 20, opening the latest round of their annual bilateral exercise.
The June 20–30 drill drew roughly 9,600 personnel from both militaries to rehearse the defense of remote islands in Japan amid growing Chinese military pressure in the Indo-Pacific.
The exercise spanned bases across southwestern Japan, from Kyushu to the outlying island chain….
US, Japan Forging Multilateral Alliance to Counter China’s Military Expansion, Expert Says
