"If China Invades 'Daeman'..." US and Japan Conduct War Games

Assuming a Scenario of Missile Attacks on Chinese Warships
U.S. and Japan Conduct Joint Exercise for Possible Taiwan Invasion
Includes Simulation of Chinese Landing on Yonaguni Island

Last February, the United States and Japan conducted a war game simulating China's invasion of Taiwan during the joint military exercise 'Keen Edge 2024.'

The Sankei Shimbun reported on the 6th that fighter jets belonging to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force attacked a Chinese amphibious assault fleet crossing the Taiwan Strait with anti-ship missiles. The exercise included operational command training assuming actual combat, such as the Chinese military landing on Yonaguni Island at the western end of the Japanese archipelago.

F-35A deployed in Japan. Provided by Japan Air Self-Defense Force

This was the first time the United States and Japan conducted joint military exercises in preparation for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The joint exercise scenario assumed that as the Chinese military invaded Taiwan, they also attacked U.S. military bases such as the Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Japan did not recognize this as a situation warranting the exercise of individual self-defense rights but considered that conditions were met to exercise force based on collective self-defense rights.

The Sankei Shimbun introduced only part of the war game. It was assumed that as the Chinese military began the invasion of Taiwan, they attacked the Sasebo base in Nagasaki, Kyushu, and the Iwakuni base in Yamaguchi Prefecture with missiles.

The Sasebo base is where large amphibious assault ships belonging to the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet are stationed. The Iwakuni base is a U.S. Marine Corps airbase. These bases house the main U.S. forces in Japan that would be the first to deploy if China invaded Taiwan.

The U.S. military immediately requested the Japan Joint Staff to attack the Chinese amphibious assault fleet crossing the Taiwan Strait. Although the Japan Self-Defense Forces Joint Staff was officially launched in March this year, the exercise assumed it was already operational at the time of the training and conducted a tabletop exercise accordingly.

The training scenario also included Chinese forces landing on Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, but the landing force was expected to be small and suppressed by the stationed Japanese forces.

Meanwhile, Keen Edge is a joint exercise held every two years by the United States and Japan, alternating between live exercises and command training.