Japan to dispatch aircraft carrier Izumo to Indo-Pacific from mid-June
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The deployment is part of Japan's efforts to deter China's attempts to expand its influence in the region.
PHOTO: YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
TOKYO (YOMIURI SHIMBUN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Japan's helicopter-carrying destroyer Izumo, which continues to be upgraded as a de facto aircraft carrier, will be part of a Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF) deployment in the Indo-Pacific starting June 13.
The deployment will include other vessels, such as the destroyers Takanami and Kirisame and a submarine, and aerial units including a P-1 maritime patrol aircraft, and will run through Oct 28.
The ports of call will cover 12 countries and regions, including Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu in the South Pacific, as well as Japan's fellow Quad members the United States, India and Australia. This will be the first port of call in Vanuatu by MSDF units.
The deployment announced by the MSDF is part of the government's efforts to deter China's attempts to expand its influence in the region.
Beijing has concluded a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, in an apparent bid to vie with Washington for hegemony in the region.
The Quad's Japan, the US and Australia are among the countries that have become increasingly wary of China's moves.
Tokyo is seeking to promote trust with countries in the Indo-Pacific through joint exercises.
"It's extremely unusual for MSDF vessels to tour intensively around Pacific island nations," a senior Defence Ministry official said.
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has also convened a project team on the Pacific island nations from the Foreign Affairs Division.
The team, which held its first meeting on Wednesday (June 1). The team plans to compile a proposal this autumn, calling for the government to expand security cooperation with these island nations.