British and Japanese officials insist joint military exercise is not intended to send message to Beijing despite rising tensions

Four RAF Typhoon fighter jets will arrive in Japan next week to take part in their first-ever drill with the Japanese air self-defence force, as the countries deepen their security ties amid heightened tension over Chinese military activity in the East and South China seas.



While British and Japanese officials insist the joint exercise, which begins at Misawa airbase in north-east Japan next Friday, is not intended to send a message to Beijing, Britain has joined Japanese warnings against any attempt by China to restrict air or sea travel in the region.

“The purpose of this exercise is to enhance tactical skills of Japan air self-defence force unit and strengthen Japan-UK defence cooperation. We have no specific country or region in our mind,” Japan’s defence ministry told the Guardian.

Japan and Britain have “shared fundamental values” and “common strategic objectives to maintain the rules-based international order”, the ministry added, using language Japan has often used in pressuring Chinese ships and aircraft to refrain from entering waters and airspace near the disputed Senkakus, a group of islands in the East China Sea that are administered by Japan but also claimed by China, where they are known as the Diaoyu.

“Despite its decision to leave the European Union, Japan expects the UK to continue to contribute to world peace and stability as a global power.”

The Typhoons will leave Japan for Osan airbase near Seoul to take part in their first joint drill – called Invincible Shield – with fighter pilots from South Korea and the US. South Korean officials said the drill would improve the allies’ ability to strike key targets in North Korea, including military facilities and those linked to the regime’s leader, Kim Jong-un.

“Through the exercise, the three countries will be able to bolster the interoperability of their military arsenals and joint operational capabilities in the event of conflict breaking out on the Korean peninsula,” a spokesman for the South Korean air force told Yonhap news agency.

The Typhoon – one of the most advanced fighter jets in the world – will be the first British military aircraft to visit Japan since the cold war. The exercise will also be the first time pilots from Japan’s air self-defence force have flown alongside those from another country apart from the US.

The joint drill at Misawa, which ends in early November, was agreed during security talks between the British foreign and defence secretaries and their Japanese counterparts during talks in Tokyo in January.

The four fighters are being accompanied on the long journey from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland by Voyager tanker aircraft, C-17 Globemaster and C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, and 170 RAF support personnel.

Brig Gen Yoshiyuki Sugiyama, the air self-defence force’s chief of staff, told reporters that Japan wanted to “enhance its interoperability with the British air force” through the drill.

Britain’s defence secretary, Michael Fallon, said: “Japan is our closest security partner in Asia and I want to significantly deepen defence cooperation between our two nations.”

Japan’s defence ministry recently requested a record 5.17tn yen (£40bn) budget to counter growing Chinese military activity near the islands. Tokyo has also voiced support for the south-east Asian countries protesting against China’s controversial artificial island building campaign in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

“Britain is concerned about the general security environment in Asia rather than specifically the East and South China Sea issues,” said Tetsuo Kotani, a senior fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, adding that partnership with Japan was the best way to demonstrate its commitment to the region. “This is more of a ‘show the flag’ operation by the UK,” he said.

Wing Commander Roger Elliott, who will take part in the drills, described the deployment as “the most ambitious ever involving the Typhoon force, and probably the most ambitious deployment the air force has done to the far east”.

Britain’s ambassador to Japan, Tim Hitchens, said: “We want to continue to further deepen and broaden UK-Japan defence cooperation in the coming years.”