U.S. Military Participates in Training on Miyako Island for the First Time in Joint Exercise with Japan's SDF

(CNA, Tokyo, 18th, Comprehensive External Report) Japan and the United States began the "Ground-SDF comprehensive exercise" on Miyako and Yonaguni islands in Okinawa Prefecture yesterday, marking the first time the two sides have conducted such training in Japan's southwestern region. Japan's Ministry of Defense intends to enhance response capabilities through mobile deployment and logistics transport training. The Ryukyu Shimpo reported today that about 300 members of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and about 20 members of the U.S. 12th Marine Littoral Regiment stationed in Okinawa are participating in the exercise. The two sides also started exercises on Ishigaki Island today. In the Ueno-Nobara area of Miyako Island City, the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) has a garrison where the U.S. and Japan have established a "Coordination Cell" for joint operations and are conducting training at this command post. According to the report, this is also the first time the U.S. military has participated in training on Miyako Island. At around 11 a.m. today, U.S. military personnel and others arrived at the Air Self-Defense Force's Miyako-jima Sub-Base, about 1.4 kilometers from the aforementioned garrison, via a GSDF CH-47 transport helicopter. They then boarded a bus and entered the base around noon from an adjacent SDF building, rather than through the main gate. Meanwhile, in front of the GSDF Miyako-jima Garrison, protesters gathered from 8:30 a.m. today to oppose the training, chanting slogans such as "Don't train on Miyako Island as if it's a battlefield." The exercise will continue until the 22nd of this month. U.S. participation in the command post training will only last until the 20th. The exercise includes simulating defenses against intrusion and attacks on important facilities at the Ishigaki Garrison, as well as practicing the deployment of Type 88 surface-to-ship missiles. Additionally, during the exercise period, two ScanEagle II drones will be deployed on Yonaguni Island, located about 113 kilometers east of Taiwan. (Translator: Yang Wei-ching) 1150518