US hopes military symposium may help contain China

TOKYO – Military commanders from Japan, the United States, South Korea, the Philippines and 14 other countries met in Tokyo this week for a gathering that Washington hopes will help forge cooperation between nations that can help it contain China.

The Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium (PALS) was started by the United States in Hawaii in 2015 as it began shifting away from a policy of engaging with China to one that tries to hem in Beijing’s influence. That included a military pivot by Washington to Asia and a push for deeper ties with like-minded nations in the region.

“There is no nation that can do it all by themselves, everyone has a piece to offer,” Lieutenant General Steven Rudder, Commander of US Marine Corps Forces Pacific, said in a closing address.

The four-day event, which concluded on Thursday, is first hosted by Japan, and comes as Tokyo looks to take on a bigger regional security role to counter China, North Korea and Russia.

Japan has criticized its neighbors for ignoring international norms and since Moscow’s attack on Ukraine has become alarmed about the prospect of Beijing using force to bring Taiwan under its control.

“PALS 2022 disseminates a powerful message that we do not allow unilateral changes to the status quo by force,” General Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of staff of Japan’s Ground Self Defence Force, said alongside Rudder.

China says its recent military exercises around Taiwan, which it considers as a part of its territory, are meant to defend its sovereignty.

Speaking in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi described his country as being on a front line surrounded by rule-breaking nuclear-armed actors.

Around 70 PALS participants visited a naval base and army camp near Tokyo on Thursday to observe drills and inspect military equipment, including hovercraft and Osprey aircraft carrying troops.

US Forces in Japan also displayed a High Mobility Rocket System (HIMARS) similar to ones the Pentagon is supplying Ukraine to help it fight off Russian invasion forces that Moscow says are there on a “special operation.”

Participants included military commanders from Southeast Asia, such as Thailand and Indonesia, that dispute parts of China’s territorial claims to most of the strategic South China Sea.

Britain and France, which have sent naval patrols to Asia in recent years, and Pacific island nations including Fiji and the Maldives also sent representatives.

Joint training

Meanwhile, members of the Philippine and US Marine Corps completed yesterday a two-week joint training exercise held in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte and the Antonio Batista Air Base in Palawan.

Filipino and American soldiers trained together in the bilateral Marine Aviation Support Activity (MASA) 22.1 program.

Held from June 6 to 17, the joint training sought to increase interoperability and improve aviation-related capabilities in support of US-Philippine mutual defense.

Units from the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Naval Air Wing also participated in the exercises by the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) and the US Marine Corps (USMC).

“Training side by side increases our combined military capability, but also our friendship, which directly contributes to the strength of our alliance. This exercise builds on decades of cooperation, friendship and shared experience,” Lt. Gen. Rudder said in a statement yesterday.

MASA 22.1 included integrated and joint interoperability activities such as coastal defense, forward arming and refueling and subject matter expert exchanges (SMEE) for small unmanned aviation systems and engineering.

Exercise participants also took part in a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System SMEE, which culminated in a practical demonstration.

“The MASA 22.1 exercise in Palawan is important for our Marine forces and aviators to enhance our effectiveness and readiness to protect our territory. It will also improve our interoperability with the US Marine Corps and contribute to our longstanding alliance with the US armed forces,” PMC 3rd Marine Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Jimmy Larida said.

The US embassy in Manila said the exercise also marked a historic first with the inaugural deployment of the TPS-80 Ground/Air Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) in the Philippines.

For the duration of the training, Marine Air Control Squadron 4 employed the G/ATOR in Laoag City to provide airspace surveillance and air defense in support of theater security cooperation and enhanced bilateral training.

MASA 22.2, set to be held from July 18 to 22, is planned to include combined tactical and heliborne training between USMC and PMC partner units.

Through MASA, the US embassy said the USMC and PMC are able to rehearse and refine tactics, techniques and procedures for command and control of aircraft together in support of mutual defense and a free and open Indo-Pacific.