Japan - US conduct military exercise to retake Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

Japan and the United States are considering holding joint military exercises simulating the retaking of islands from foreign forces - amid tense relations between the two countries.Tokyoand Beijing is tense over the sovereignty of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

The first island recapture exercise is scheduled to take place in early November on the uninhabited island of Irisunajima in Okinawa, southern Japan, Kyodo and Jiji Press news agencies reported, citing unnamed sources. According to Kyodo, the US and Japanese militaries will use ships and helicopters to land from the air and at sea during the exercise to simulate retaking the island. Japan Ground Self-Defense Force inSasebo, consciousNagasakiand the US Marine Expeditionary Unit in the provinceOkinawawill participate in the exercise.

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members participate in an amphibious assault exercise in Guam, September 2012.

The island recapture exercise followed a similar amphibious exercise by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the US Marines inGuamSeptember. Japan's Defense Ministry strengthens its defense capabilities for the Nansei Islands, including the prefectureOkinawa-as a counterweight to China's growing influence at sea. Senior Japanese military officials said the exercise was planned before Japan decided to buy three of the five islands in the Senkakus, which China calls Diaoyu, a move that drew strong protests from Beijing. The exercise coincided with the Communist Party of China's National Congress, which opened on November 8.

The US and Japanese governments will be careful about the type and scale of the exercises, sources said. The two countries have been conducting joint military exercises since 1986. The November exercise will be the 11th, involving the deployment of armed forces.

According to Laodong-M