Japan launches first joint military drill with US, France

TOKYO: Japanese, US and French troops kicked off their first-ever joint military drill on Tuesday in southwestern Japan, as concerns rise over growing tension in the region.

An Australian naval ship is also taking part in the week-long air, land and sea exercises involving 300 ground troops from the three countries. It comes as Tokyo looks to deepen defence ties beyond its key US ally and with eyes on Beijing.

"The drill is no doubt a deterrent to ncreasingly aggressive behaviour in the region," Takashi Kawakami, head of the Institute of World Studies at Takushoku University, told AFP. "In the long term, European commitment in the Indo-Pacific could lead to closer ties between Japan and Nato, something former prime minister Shinzo Abe advocated," he added.

The drills, which include fighter jet and amphibious operation exercises, will be held in the Kyushu region and at sea with virus countermeasures. A Japanese submarine and 10 surface ships -- six Japanese, two French, one American and one Australian -- will be used, a French naval official said.