US and Japanese Aircraft Conduct Joint Exercises Near China

The Japanese Ministry of Defense stated on Thursday that dozens of American and Japanese jets had conducted combined military maneuvers over the waters off China's east coast.

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) stated this week that 52 planes, including F-15s, F-35s, and a variety of support vessels, conducted "bilateral training" over the Sea of Japan, Pacific Ocean, and East China Sea. According to various accounts, a rise in Sino-Russian military collaboration in the Indo-Pacific erupted during President Joe Biden's visit to Tokyo, Japan, in May.

The security situation in the Indo-Pacific is “becoming increasingly severe” in light of Beijing’s “attempts to change the status quo by coercion,” Japan’s ASDF reported on Monday.

According to CNN, the navies of the United States and Japan have been conducting combined patrols in the waters surrounding Taiwan's Nansei Islands and the Senkaku Islands this week. According to a congressional study, China, Japan, and Taiwan all claim sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, despite the fact that the United States has no official position on the matter.

It was a week after Chinese and Russian warships had traveled close to Senkaku Islands on July 5, according to the U.S Naval Institute. US and Japanese naval patrols followed.

Days after China's social media followers cheered the assassination of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe by a Japanese military veteran armed with a homemade weapon, U.S. and Japanese air force drills have taken place. With over 28,000 likes reported on Weibo, the hashtag "Abe has no vital signs" immediately went viral in China's social media landscape there.

According to The New York Times, Abe pushed to modify Japan's constitution to allow the country to increase its military spending while in office. According to The Wall Street Journal, even though Abe failed in his attempt to amend Japan's constitution, the creation of a national security council under his leadership allowed the government to more effectively collect intelligence by removing "jurisdictional hurdles."

Foreign embassies and the Pentagon did not immediately reply to a request from the Daily Caller News Foundation for comment.

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