Japanese Escort Flotilla Departs for Indo–Pacific Region

The Japanese JS Izumo (R) with other naval vessels, including those from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands in the Pacific Ocean in September 2021. (UK Ministry of Defence via AP)

An escort flotilla of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), composed of destroyers JS Izumo and JS Takanami, has departed for a four-month-long naval exercise in the Indo–Pacific.

The Escort Flotilla Four departed from the Yokosuka port base on June 13 for the Indo-Pacific deployment (IPD), which will run from June 13 to Oct 28.

The IPD also involves Japan’s destroyer JS Kirisame, a submarine, a P-1 maritime patrol aircraft, UP-3D electronic intelligence training aircraft, and US-2 amphibian aircraft.

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JMSDF Vice Adm. Hideki Yuasa said the mission is to promote maritime order in the Indo–Pacific region, “which has rapidly [become] more complex and unstable.”

The IPD will demonstrate Japan’s strong opposition to “any attempt to unilaterally change the status by force” and “its strong determination to ensure the safety of maritime traffic” in the region, Yuasa said in a statement.

Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi has vowed to bolster the country’s deterrence capabilities and boost its alliance with the United States, citing Japan’s position as a front-line opponent of “rule-flouting actors.”

“At present, not only is Japan surrounded by actors that both possess or are developing nuclear weapons and ignoring the rules, but also, year by year, they are becoming more open in their disregard for them,” he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Kishi said that Russia has intensified its military activities in the Far East and the Pacific, while China continues its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo in the South and East China seas.

The IPD units would make port calls to Australia, Fiji, French New Caledonia, India, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Tonga, United States, Vanuatu, and Vietnam.

The JS Izumo, recently converted into a light aircraft carrier, is Japan’s largest warship, measuring 248 meters in length and 38 meters in beam. The ship can carry up to 28 aircraft and accommodate 970 sailors.

According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, the IPD units will take part in six exercises, including the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific 2022 (RIMPAC), which is set to take place from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.

The IPD units will also participate in the Pacific Partnership 2022, the Pacific Vanguard 2022, and the Japan–India joint training exercise. Other training includes the Australian Kakadu exercise and the U.S.–Philippines Sama Sama exercise.