Japan to Sail Carrier Into South China Sea In Massive Show of Force

Dispatching the helicopter carrier Izumo to the South China Sea is the largest show of naval force by Japan in the region since World War Two.
By Tyler RogowayMarch 13, 2017



Japan's Izumo class helicopter carrier will be sent on an unprecedented three month long patrol the the tumultuous South China Sea. The Izumo will call on ports in Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia ahead of joining the large scale "Malabar" international naval exercises in the Indian Ocean. These exercises usually include India and the US as primary players.With the addition of Japan's helicopter carrier and its escorts, the exercise could see carriers from the three most powerful navies in the region, aside from China, working together in joint drills—a revelation that is sure to perturb Beijing. Yet it was the People's Liberation Army Navy that sent its own carrier to the region on a similar operational proof of concept and show of force cruise just three months ago.

The Izumo is 814 feet long and displaces 27,000 tons. Although Japan likes to downplay its capabilities, even calling it a "helicopter destroyer" instead of a helicopter carrier, the ship can theoretically deploy dozens of helicopters far from Japanese shores. These include anti-submarine, utility, and attack helicopter variants, of which Japan has some of the most capable models around, including Merlins, Black Hawks and Chinooks, as well as Cobras and Apaches. Even if the massive helicopter carrier just focuses its mission on anti-submarine warfare, it would pose an increased threat to China's highly-active submarine operations in the region.



Although Japan doesn't have any claims over the South China Sea, it has its own separate maritime squabbles with China and the one surrounding the Senkaku Islands has gotten especially tense in recent years. Both issues—China's claims on the South China Sea and the Senkaku islands—will likely come up next month when Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with President Trump for the first at Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.



For post WWII Japan, whose constitution limits itself from procuring and deploying "offensive weaponry," the massive Izumo, as well as her sister-ship Kaga that will be commissioned very soon, are another reminder of Japan's changing geopolitical and military role in the eastern hemisphere and beyond.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone...-show-of-force

South China Sea | Tue Mar 14, 2017 | 7:48am EDT

Exclusive: Japan plans to send largest warship to South China Sea, sources say

By Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo | TOKYO

Japan plans to dispatch its largest warship on a three-month tour through the South China Sea beginning in May, three sources said, in its biggest show of naval force in the region since World War Two.

China claims almost all the disputed waters and its growing military presence has fueled concern in Japan and the West, with the United States holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation.

The Izumo helicopter carrier, commissioned only two years ago, will make stops in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka before joining the Malabar joint naval exercise with Indian and U.S. naval vessels in the Indian Ocean in July.

It will return to Japan in August, the sources said.

"The aim is to test the capability of the Izumo by sending it out on an extended mission," said one of the sources who have knowledge of the plan. "It will train with the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea," he added, asking not to be identified because he is not authorized to talk to the media.

A spokesman for Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force declined to comment.




FILE PHOTO: Japan Maritime Self Defense Force's helicopter carrier Izumo is seen at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo


Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei also claim parts of the sea which has rich fishing grounds, oil and gas deposits and through which around $5 trillion of global sea-borne trade passes each year.

Japan does not have any claim to the waters, but has a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea.

Japan wants to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has pushed ties with China in recent months as he has criticized the old alliance with the United States, to visit the Izumo when it visits Subic Bay, about 100 km (62 miles) west of Manila, another of the sources said.

Asked during a news conference about his view on the warship visit, Duterte said, without elaborating, "I have invited all of them."

He added: "It is international passage, the South China Sea is not our territory, but it is part of our entitlement."

On whether he would visit the warship at Subic Bay, Duterte said: "If I have time."

Japan's flag-flying operation comes as the United States under President Donald Trump appears to be taking a tougher line with China. Washington has criticized China's construction of man-made islands and a build-up of military facilities that it worries could be used to restrict free movement.

Beijing in January said it had "irrefutable" sovereignty over the disputed islands after the White House vowed to defend "international territories".

The 249 meter-long (816.93 ft) Izumo is as large as Japan's World War Two-era carriers and can operate up to nine helicopters. It resembles the amphibious assault carriers used by U.S. Marines, but lacks their well deck for launching landing craft and other vessels.

Japan in recent years, particularly under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has been stretching the limits of its post-war, pacifist constitution. It has designated the Izumo as a destroyer because the constitution forbids the acquisition of offensive weapons. The vessel, nonetheless, allows Japan to project military power well beyond its territory.

Based in Yokosuka, near to Tokyo, which is also home to the U.S. Seventh Fleet's carrier, the Ronald Reagan, the Izumo's primary mission is anti-submarine warfare.

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty in Manila; Editing by Nick Macfie)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ja...-idUSKBN16K0UP