Indo-US-Japan Naval Exercise Irks China

 

The first phase of the drill kicked off on Friday in Japan’s southwestern city of Sasebo, with the second stage due to start on June 14 off the Okinawa Island, Press TV said.

 

Chinese military expert Du Wenlong said Saturday that the drill is aimed at the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls Senkaku, "to make the maritime and air space situations of the East China Sea worse.”

 

The tri-country began their marine war games, Malabar Exercise, near Okinawa Island - about 400 kilometres from the contested Senkaku Islands - hunting for Chinese submarines, ships, recreating scenario of countering a hostile Chinese People' Liberation Army (Navy).

 

Lying around 220 km (137 miles) west of Taiwan are a group of uninhabited isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, which are controlled by Tokyo and claimed by Beijing.

 

Earlier in 2013, China unilaterally established an Aircraft Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea (ECS ADIZ) triggering protest from Japan, USA, European Union and Australia. Besides, China has claimed several islands in East and South China Sea.

 

The exercise, the annually held Malabar, has been recently expanded from a bilateral comprising India and US to a trilateral exercise to include Japan. This year the over-all control of the exercise will be with Japan. 

 

Over 100 assets - warships, fighters and surveillance aircrafts - will be participating in this year's Malabar, indicating the size and intent of the exercise.