China’s new nightmare: a Japanese containment arc in the Indo-Pacific

AI Summary

A major U.S.-Japan military exercise deployed anti-ship and air-defense systems to Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island near Taiwan. Japan also mobilized a new long-range missile, underscoring the strengthening of Indo-Pacific defenses amid concerns about China.

Just weeks after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked their countries’ World War II alliance at the White House, Keen Sword 27 turned symbolism into hardware. The 11-day exercise, which wrapped up on October 29, deployed US Marine NMESIS anti-ship launchers and MADIS air-defence systems to Yonaguni – Japan’s westernmost island, just 110km (70 miles) from Taiwan. Japan mobilised its new Type 25 missile, with a reported 1,000km range, from Kumamoto for the system’s...