Japan-U.S. Military Exercise Raises Concerns
The recently concluded Keen Sword joint military exercise, the largest of its kind between Japan and the United States, has sparked concerns about potential intelligence leaks to China.
The exercise, which took place from October 23rd to November 1st, involved a total of 45,000 personnel from both countries. A key focus was simulating a military response to a conflict near Taiwan.
The drills primarily occurred in the Nansei Islands, stretching from south of Kyushu to Okinawa Prefecture. Training included evacuating residents and injured troops from these islands to the main islands of Okinawa and Honshu.
Keen Sword has been held biennially since 1986. This year's iteration assumed the presence of the SDF's joint operations command, scheduled for establishment in spring 2025. This new command will integrate operations across all three branches of the SDF.
While the exercise aimed to showcase the strong partnership between Japan and the United States, it also presented opportunities for intelligence gathering by adversaries. Radio communications between units during Keen Sword could be intercepted and analyzed for future use.
Defense Ministry officials believe recent airspace incursions by Chinese and Russian military aircraft were attempts to gather such communications. A Chinese Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft was spotted flying over several Okinawan islands on October 28th before returning to China. Two other Chinese aircraft were also observed flying near areas where Keen Sword exercises were ongoing.
The incident prompted the scrambling of Air SDF fighter jets to monitor the Chinese aircraft.