Competing Exercises

[Anchor Lead]

The U.S. and Japan are holding joint military drills not far from the Korean Peninsula, even as Russia and China stage joint exercises of their own in the region. Russia’s active participation in the exercises has drawn attention here in South Korea, where the move is interpreted as Moscow showing that it doesn’t want any change to the balance of power in the region.

[Pkg]

Heavily armed soldiers enter a building and conduct a search operation. This is a joint combat drill of American and Japanese ground forces that kicked off on September 12. The exercise is focused on bolstering the two sides' combined operational capabilities against North Korea's continued provocations, including its 6th nuclear test and medium- and long-range missile launches. The U.S. Air Force and Japan's Air Self-Defense Force also mobilized B-1 strategic bombers, F-35B stealth fighter jets and F-2 fighter jets in a show of force. Meanwhile, China and Russia have begun their own joint naval drills. The exercise, which will continue in the East Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk until September 26, has mobilized a dozen warships from the two sides including destroyers and submarines. The joint exercise by China and Russia is viewed as a protest to the military cooperation between Washington and Tokyo which includes a joint missile defense network.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Han-kwon(Korea Nat'l Diplomatic Academy) : "China and Russia appear to be stepping up their strategic cooperation in the region in response to the strengthening alliance between the U.S. and Japan."

Amid the clear picture of division between the U.S. and Japan versus China and Russia, more combined naval drills are scheduled next month. They include drills jointly conducted by South Korea and the U.S. as well as a trilateral exercise that includes Japan.