what is the purpose of japan-nato joint exercise in the mediterranean
2024-09-04
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japan and nato held a tactical exercise codenamed "passage" in the waters near the eastern mediterranean
recently, the japan maritime self-defense force and nato's permanent maritime brigade no. 2 and maritime minesweeping brigade no. 2 held a tactical exercise codenamed "passage" in the waters near the eastern mediterranean. both sides sent a total of 5 ships to participate in the exercise, practicing subjects such as water maneuvers, communications, and underwater explosive detection. in addition, the crews of both sides exchanged visits during the cross-deck exercise.
the nato commander who participated in the exercise said that the exercise has enhanced the interoperability and cooperation capabilities of nato and japan, strengthened the partnership between the two sides, and demonstrated the alliance's commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation and responding to regional security threats. some foreign media commented that the exercise is of great significance given the current tense security situation around the mediterranean.
japan attempted to achieve the goal of "killing three birds with one stone" through this exercise.
first, actively respond to military cooperation with nato. since the beginning of this year, japan's security cooperation with nato has continued to heat up and become more institutionalized. japanese prime minister fumio kishida attended the nato summit for the third consecutive year. nato member states have been participating in joint exercises around japan more frequently. in the first half of the year alone, at least 14 countries and japan conducted nearly 30 joint exercises around them. in comparison, japan has conducted fewer joint exercises in europe. this exercise is seen as a strong response by japan to the military cooperation between the two sides.
second, the "starlink" communication was tested in the ocean. the japanese "kashima" training ship participating in the exercise was equipped with a "starlink" internet satellite communication antenna in june this year. in order to test the "starlink" communication performance and to make "starlink" communication fully cover the army, navy and air self-defense forces as soon as possible, japan designed a 175-day overseas tour training mission covering 11 countries. the joint military exercise in the eastern mediterranean is one of the plans in the above training mission.
the third is to accelerate the promotion of military integration with nato. under the instigation of the united states, the scope of japan-us military integration has gradually expanded from the simple integration between japan and the united states to the integration between japan, the united states and its allies. this exercise involves water mobility, communication, underwater explosive detection and other contents. it aims to strengthen the interoperability of the two sides through exercises and promote the in-depth and practical military integration between japan, the united states and its allies.
judging from the time, location and participating forces, nato also has its own calculations in participating in this exercise.
in terms of the exercise time, the current russia-ukraine conflict has entered a stalemate period, and nato is deeply stuck in it and unable to extricate itself. it urgently needs external forces to join in to ease its strategic pressure; in terms of the exercise location, the eastern mediterranean connects europe, africa, and asia, overlooking the turkish straits, and is an important channel for nato to transport strategic materials to ukraine; in terms of participating forces, the multinational integrated maritime forces dispatched by nato are equipped with advanced minehunters and minesweepers, which can not only provide maritime military support, but also detect, identify and remove mines and explosive ordnance.
in general, nato used this exercise to, on the one hand, attempt to draw japan deeper into the conflict between russia and ukraine, and to use japan's funds, resources and military strength to ease the strategic pressure brought by europe's aid to ukraine; on the other hand, nato used combat support forces to conduct exercises in the eastern mediterranean, intending to demonstrate its ability to protect important sea routes and at the same time to carry out strategic deterrence against russia. (sui changquan and xu shiwei)
source: china national defense news
