US Not Concerned With Russia, China Military Drills In Indo-Pacific Region; Japan Deeply Bothered

[xizhimen]

US Not Concerned With Russia, China Military Drills In Indo-Pacific Region; Japan Deeply Bothered​

ByNitin J Ticku
October 26, 2021

The United States has no issue with the recent Russia-China joint military drills in the Indo-Pacific region, US Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.

“We don’t have an issue with military exercises, we do it all the time,” Kirby said when asked if the Defense Department is concerned about the Russia-China joint military drills. “They obviously decided they need to operate together, exercise together, and I think they should have to speak for that.”

Kirby added that the United States will continue to improve its capabilities and work with its allies in the region.

Over the weekend, Moscow said that Russian and Chinese warships had conducted the first joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean, with the vessels traversing the international waters of the Tsugaru Strait in the Sea of Japan.

Tokyo said that the warships also sailed through the Osumi Strait and the Japanese military registered a helicopter taking off from and landing on the deck of a Chinese destroyer near the Danjo Islands. In response, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets.

In addition, Russia and China also held joint naval exercises from October 14-17 in the Sea of Japan. The crews worked out joint tactical maneuvering, anti-mine support of detachments, as well as conducted artillery fire at sea targets, among other things, according to the Russian military.

Earlier, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro discussed the recent joint passage of Russian and Chinese warships through straits near Japanese islands during a meeting in Tokyo.

During the talks, Kishi expressed concern about the activities of the Russian and Chinese vessels, the news agency said, noting that Del Toro expressed Washington’s intention to further strengthen maritime cooperation with its long-time security ally.

The officials also touched upon North Korea’s recent test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. Last week, North Korea said it had successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a submarine. Since the launch sparked a new whirlwind of tensions in the region, North Korea’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that it was not aimed at any particular country.

Japan considers China’s provocative naval activities as a massive security threat. The two countries have been locked in a dispute over East China Sea islands that China claims as its own.

Japan also has a territorial dispute with Russia over a separate group of islands that has deterred them until now from signing a peace treaty that would formally end World War II hostilities.

Expanding Indo-Pacific​

US Department of State Assistant Secretary Karen Donfried had earlier said that the United States welcomes an opportunity to discuss the inclusion of the European Union (EU) into the future Indo-Pacific initiatives.

“We welcome the opportunity to discuss how to include the EU, and other partners in our initiatives around the Indo-Pacific going forward,” Donfried said at a press briefing. “We welcome the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy.

We welcome France’s engagement in the region, and we’re looking forward to discussing the specifics of how we can deepen cooperation on the priorities identified in that strategy that we share.”

The cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region could include strengthening of the international rules and ocean governance, and digital connectivity, Donfried added.

On 19 April 2021, the EU adopted conclusions on its strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The document represented an attempt of the 27 European countries to find a common ground in the ongoing debate on the Indo-Pacific. The adoption of the strategy signaled the growing strategic importance of the region for the EU.

As a follow-up to the conclusions, the European Commission presented a Joint Communication on the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy on September 16, 2021. As noted in the statement, the implementation of the EU Indo-Pacific strategy will include a number of actions, in particular completing EU trade negotiations with Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand.

US Not Concerned With Russia, China Military Drills In Indo-Pacific Region; Japan Deeply Bothered

The United States has no issue with the recent Russia-China joint military drills in the Indo-Pacific region, US Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday. Ahead Of FIFA World Cup, US’ Continued Silence Over MQ-9 Reaper Drone Sales Frustrates Host Qatar — Reports “We don’t have...

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[xizhimen]

5 Russian Vessels Enter Sea Of Japan After Circling Archipelago With Chinese Ships: Report​

Japanese Maritime Defence forces intercepted the Russian warships sailing into the strait maintaining a northeastern direction some 140km southwest of Tsushima.​

Last Updated: 26th October, 2021 11:39 IST

After winding up the first-ever maritime patrol exercise with China in the Western Pacific waters, five Russian warships sailed into the Sea of Japan through Tsushima Strait during drills in the East China Sea. The cluster separated from the Chinese flotilla after both parties circled around the archipelago, Kyodo news reported, citing Japan's Ministry of Defence (MoD). As confirmed by the ministry, the five Russian vessels were a part of the Sino-Russian maritime drill that was conducted in the Sea of Japan in mid-October.

As per reports, Japanese Maritime Defence forces intercepted the Russian warships sailing into the strait maintaining a northeastern direction some 140 kilometres southwest of Tsushima in the country's Nagasaki Prefecture. The incident took place on Saturday around 10 pm after which the naval vessels entered the sea of Japan. On Sunday, the vessels were stationed some 60 kilometres northeast of Tsushima when a helicopter was seen taking off and landing on a frigate.

Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi expressed concern about the Russian activities during his meeting with US Secretary of Navy Carlos Del Toro, Kyodo News reported. "The security situation surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly severe," he said. Minister Kishi also briefly talked about North Korean aggressive testing of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, refuting Japan's accusations, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that the entry of five Russian Pacific Fleet warships into the Sea of Japan was a part of the patrol exercise jointly conducted with China.

5 Russian vessels enter Sea of Japan after circling archipelago with Chinese ships: Report- Republic World

After winding up the first-ever maritime patrol exercise with China in the Western Pacific waters, five Russian warships sailed into the Sea of Japan through Tsushima Strait during drills in the East China Sea. The cluster separated from the Chinese flotilla after both parties circled around the...

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[Gary]

JMSDF is one of the most capable navies out there, combined the USN JMSDF combo are a force to be reckoned with.


Bothered ?? off course, it's natural. But never question the capability of the Japanese MSDF. Unlike Russia-China joint patrol, The US and Japan had been constant in their presence all along the first island chain, the recent Sino-Russian patrol are no biggie.

 

[xizhimen]

the recent Sino-Russian patrol are no biggie.

It has just started, they'll see more in the next decade, and more after next decade, ....

 

[Gary]

It has just started, they'll see more in the next decade, and more after next decade, ....

Not really I've seen this prediction multiple times since at least 2015, that Russia and China will increase joint patrol and interoperability.

the thing is since then the Russian and Chinese only do joint patrol only once a year, in contrast to the constant presence of US Japan naval task force in the first island chain.

if anyone who's going to up the ante is the US, since Biden took power the US had successfully persuade other countries to step up its naval presence in the Pacific, think like the UK with it's massive CSG-21 carrier strike group.

 

[xizhimen]

Not really I've seen this prediction multiple times since at least 2015, that Russia and China will increase joint patrol and interoperability.

It had increased, but this is the first time that China and Russia circled the whole Japan, it had never happened before. So you believe this kind of joint control will decrease instead of increase in the future?

 

[Gary]

It had increased, but this is the first time that China and Russia circled the whole Japan, it had never happened before. So you believe this kind of joint control will decrease instead of increase in the future?

It could increase, but at what level ??

The Russian Pacific fleet are no match for the JMSDF, and the Pacific are now crowded with allied naval forces ranging from the US, Japan, UK , Australia, France and even India.

There's no way the Sino-Russian one could challenge this tit for tat.

 

[xizhimen]

if anyone who's going to up the ante is the US, since Biden took power the US had successfully persuade other countries to step up its naval presence in the Pacific, think like the UK with it's massive CSG-21 carrier strike group.

China and US relations soured for just a couple of years, it's natural for US to be more aggressive, same for China, UK was very cautious and made public statement that this activity has nothing to do with China, UK is not stupid, China built more ships in 3 years than the whole UK loyal fleet.

 

[xizhimen]

It could increase, but at what level ??

The Russian Pacific fleet are no match for the JMSDF, and the Pacific are now crowded with allied naval forces ranging from the US, Japan, UK , Australia, France and even India.

There's no way the Sino-Russian one could challenge this tit for tat.

Only US, others are just lackeys like in the Korean war, won't make any meaningful impact at all. But US also dare not to really take on China.

 

[Gary]

UK was very cautious and made public statement that this activity has nothing to do with China, UK is not stupid, China built more ships in 3 years than the whole UK loyal fleet.

yes, because the UK and other normal countries clearly knows diplomatic norms. They will not mention the said countries, but everyone knows that CSG-21 is UK's hardening signal to China.

the recent Sino-Russian joint patrol also didn't mention Japan by name anyway.

Only US, others are just lackeys like in the Korean war, won't make any meaningful impact at all. But US also dare not to really take on China.

Actually they do make an impact, remember to this day the US Navy remains the sole undisputed champion at sea, now add the navies of Japan, UK , Australia to the equation and China is facing an uphill battle it could not win.

China today is facing what imperial Germany facing in the 1900s. A fast diminishing relative power. and no Russian input could made up for its deficiencies.

 

[xizhimen]

yes, because the UK and other normal countries clearly knows diplomatic norms. They will not mention the said countries, but everyone knows that CSG-21 is UK's hardening signal to China.

the recent Sino-Russian joint patrol also didn't mention Japan by name anyway.

UK is not stupid, it won't put its head on the platter for US, It's so naive to believe that UK will do everything for US, besides, US doesn't want to do anything either.

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[Gary]

UK is not stupid, it won't put its head on the platter for US, It's so naive to believe that UK will do everything for US, besides, US doesn't want to do anything either.

Boris Johnson says Britain must not ‘pitchfork away’ investment from China, ‘China is a great nation’ says PM

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They will not pitchfork any investment but that doesn't mean they wont poke into China's affairs.

it is actually possible to do trade with China while at the same time confronting China.

 

[xizhimen]

Actually they do make an impact, remember to this day the US Navy remains the sole undisputed champion at sea, now add the navies of Japan, UK , Australia to the equation and China is facing an uphill battle it could not win.

China today is facing what imperial Germany facing in the 1900s. A fast diminishing relative power. and no Russian input could made up for its deficiencies.

You can insist but when China and Russia fleet circled Japan, where were they? Japan is very concerned but US just doesn't care, this is how much US really cares those so called allies.

 

[xizhimen]

it is actually possible to do trade with China while at the same time confronting China.

UK is very careful when dealing with China, you expect UK to directly confront China militarily for US while US dares to do nothing?

 

[Gary]

UK is very careful when dealing with China, you expect UK to directly confront China militarily for US while US dares to do nothing?

Not really, UK bannned Huawei, called for more European engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

and the most impressive of all. It's this:

 

[xizhimen]

Not really, UK bannned Huawei, called for more European engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

and the most impressive of all. It's this:

In our eyes, it's not impressive at all, we know they dare to do nothing at all, when we tried to ram them, they just ran away crying.

 

[xizhimen]

This is called impressive...

Between 2014 and 2018, China launched more submarines, warships, amphibious vessels, and auxiliaries than the number of ships currently serving in the individual navies of Germany, India, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Eighteen ships were commissioned by China in 2016 alone and at least another 14 were added in 2017.2 By comparison, the US Navy commissioned 5 ships in 2016 and 8 ships in 2017. Should China continue to commission ships at a similar rate, it could have 425 battle force ships by 2030.

China is also leading the world in terms of the overall tonnage of ships it has put to sea. The collective tonnage of the ships launched by China between 2014-2018 was an impressive 678,000 tons – larger than the aggregate tonnages of the navies of France and Spain combined.

 

[Gary]

In our eyes, it's not impressive at all, we know they dare to do nothing at all, when we tried to ram them, they just ran away crying.

If that is not impressive at all, then what would people think when they saw a much smaller Chinese Russian fleet ??

 

[xizhimen]

If that is not impressive at all, then what would people think when they saw a much smaller Chinese Russian fleet ??

The truly impressive thing is how fast Chinese navy expands year on year, the window for US to dominate had closed, now they almost retire more ships than they commission new ones, the future is ours, the time is on our side, you and US have to live with it.

 

[Gary]

The truly impressive thing is how fast Chinese navy expands year on year, the window for US to dominate had closed, now they almost retire more ships than they commission new ones, the future is ours, the time is on our side, you and US have to live with it.

Not really, the combined US and it's allies shipbuilding beats anything that China build.

The US could expand it's shipbuilding capacity, money and funding is the issue here, take a cue of the 600 ship navy of the Reagan era.