SDF exercises to 'recapture' Nansei island / Simulation aims to send China signal

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Self-Defense Forces will conduct exercises simulating the recapture of an isolated island from enemy forces in December, Defense Ministry sources said, the first such drills by the SDF and seen as a response to China's recent naval expansion.

The exercises will be based on the newly compiled defense program for the Nansei Islands, which includes the Okinawa Islands.

The primary location will be the Ground Self-Defense Force's 4,900-hectare Hijudai maneuver site in Oita Prefecture, according to the sources. An additional exercise will also take place in a drill area around the real Nansei Islands, the sources explained. The island-reclaiming drills will be part of joint exercises with the U.S. military and the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet will provide support.

The Defense Ministry has so far refrained from carrying out major simulations of the recapture of isolated islands, due mainly to political considerations involving neighboring countries.

However, Chinese naval fleets held exercises and made provocative acts toward SDF vessels in March and April near the Nansei Islands. The Chinese Navy and Air Force have been very active in recent years, posing a sizable threat to Japan's security.

"We'll show China that Japan has the will and the capability to defend the Nansei Islands. [The exercises] will serve as a deterrent," a senior ministry official explained.

At Hijudai, SDF troops will be separated into a Blue Force (Japan) and a Red Force (enemy forces), with part of the maneuvering ground demarcated as a remote island of the Nansei Islands. The Red Force will land on the "island," where no SDF units are deployed, occupy it and set up ground-to-air missile launchers and other facilities. The Red Force will also deploy naval vessels in the surrounding sea.

After this initial set-up, an order to mobilize the SDF will be issued and the Defense Ministry will scramble Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighters, which have advanced air-to-ground and antiship attack capabilities, and Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C antisubmarine patrol aircraft.

While undermining the Red Force's antiaircraft capability, the Blue Force will send eight ASDF C-130 Hercules transport planes, carrying about 250 troops that include elite GSDF airborne brigade units, to the island. The C-130 planes will be escorted by ASDF F-15 Eagle fighters to approach the island.

Next, the airborne brigades will parachute down to the island and subdue the Red Force under protective fire from the MSDF and ASDF, finally recapturing the island, according to the scenario.

The ministry plans to make part of the exercises public, the sources added.

In April, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said he would include expenses for researching deployment of the SDF on Yonagunijima island in the Nansei Islands in its budget for fiscal 2011. China claims sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, while South and North Korea claim territorial rights over Takeshima, Shimane Prefecture.

Halting China's expansion a must

By Hidemichi Katsumata

Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer

"In principle, Japan will repel limited, small acts of aggression by itself," was an expression previously used in the National Defense Program Guidelines, but the phrase disappeared 15 years ago.

Since that time, the government's mood has depended on whether U.S. officials have clearly stated that the Senkaku Islands fall under the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. The U.S. government has repeatedly demanded Japan fulfill its "role and mission" during defense consultations. This is because the United States thinks "Japan should prepare to defend its own territory," according to a senior Defense Ministry official.

The planned exercises are a groundbreaking move, assuming the SDF can complete the task almost entirely on its own. It will also be a good opportunity to reinforce cooperation between U.S. forces and the SDF.

Of course, many problems remain. The SDF has limited ability to quickly send troops to the Nansei Islands, which stretch about 1,300 kilometers from south to north. Nor is there a plan for the evacuation of residents. The only way to solve these problems is through repeating similar exercises.

However, one thing is certain. It must be demonstrated to China, which has been strengthening its military capability and plans to expand its sphere of influence, that the SDF and the U.S. military form a watertight defense array. This will serve as the most effective deterrent.