USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) steams through the Balabec Strait and into the South China Sea on July 12, 2022. US Navy Photo
The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the South China Sea, according to a 7th Fleet release on Wednesday. Read More
Gen. Koji Yamazaki, the chief of staff of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, speaks with Vice Adm. John Alexander, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Somerset (LPD-25) during Exercise Iron Fist 2019 on Feb. 3, 2019. US Navy Photo
The most immediate threat facing Japan has been China’s ramped-up maritime intrusions into the waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands, Japan’s senior military official said Thursday. Read More
Vice Adm. Robert Thomas, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet, delivers remarks during a change of command ceremony aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). US Navy Photo
The head of U.S. naval forces in the Western Pacific said the U.S. would support an emerging plan to create multi-national patrols in the South China Sea that could bear similarities to anti-piracy patrols in the Strait of Malacca. Read More
Chinese officials called on foreign countries to neither “create dissension” nor “create tension” in the South China Sea region, according to Friday remarks from a foreign ministry spokeswoman. Read More
USS Pinckney (DDG-91) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ships near Guam on July 8, 2014. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include a quote from the Singapore’s minister for foreign affairs and law, K. Shanmugam.
The commander of U.S. 7th Fleet said Japan should start patrolling the South China Sea and said China’s claims in the region are resulting in, “unnecessary friction” with neighbors. Read More
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang on March 18, 2014.
Leaders from Japan and Vietnam have signed an agreement to expand maritime security relations between the two countries against a backdrop of an expansionist China. Read More
Chinese marines assault a beach during the Mission Action 2013 exercise. Xinhua Photo
China has long trained for an amphibious invasion of Taiwan during military exercises but has expanded its training to include a similar attack on Japanese holdings in the East China Sea, according the chief of intelligence of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (PACFLEET). Read More
Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force put on camouflage face paint before conducting a beach landing exercise with Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit on Feb. 10, 2012. US Navy Photo
Japan recently has been in the news as a result of several high-profile territorial incidents with its neighbor China. The incidents involve what Japanese call the Senkaku islands—the Diaoyu islands to the Chinese. Japan has legal ownership of the islands, which China disputes. The incidents have involved non-government activists and the coast guards of both nations, with many fearing an escalation could lead to some form of armed conflict. Read More
