Japan, Taiwan Coast Guards Conduct Joint Exercise; Rescue Operation Simulated Off Boso Peninsula

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:58 JST, July 19, 2024

The coast guards of Japan and Taiwan conducted a joint drill off the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture on Thursday, each dispatching one of their patrol vessels, according to sources close to Japan-Taiwan affairs.

It was the first maritime exercise between the two coast guards since Japan and Taiwan severed diplomatic ties in 1972.

The move aims at boosting unity between the coast guards and practicing on-site collaboration to prepare for unforeseen contingencies in the East and South China seas amid China’s continued aggressive maritime expansion. With concerns growing over a possible contingency in Taiwan, the two organizations aim to conduct joint drills on a regular basis.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration patrol boat Hsun Hu No. 9 departed from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan on June 21 and took part in an international joint patrol mission on the high seas in the Western Pacific to counter illegal fishing.

The vessel subsequently moored at a wharf in Odaiba, Tokyo, from July 10 to Wednesday noon for refueling and other purposes.

According to informed sources, Hsun Hu No. 9 conducted an exercise jointly with the Japan Coast Guard’s helicopter-equipped patrol vessel Sagami, which had departed from Yokohama Port, in an area of ocean near the southern tip of the Boso Peninsula and Izu-Oshima island on Thursday.

Simulating a rescue operation at sea, participants exercised to improve their interoperability through drills on information-sharing as well as allocation and adjustment of the sea area to be searched.

The Japan Coast Guard dispatched its senior officials to Taiwan in early June without making an official announcement. They deepened engagement with the Taiwan coast guard through such occasions as a meeting with Coast Guard Administration Director-General Chang Chung-Lung, who took office in May.

In August last year, another Taiwan coast guard patrol vessel, the Hsun Hu No. 8, called at Tokyo Bay, the first call by a Taiwanese patrol boat to Japan in 10 years.

In December 2017, Japan and Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding regarding search and rescue at sea between their contact organizations, confirming cooperation between the coast guards of both sides.

Meanwhile, the China Coast Guard (CCG) has been repeatedly sending vessels to areas around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, making intrusions into Japan’s territorial waters. In late May, the CCG for the first time took part in joint military exercises with China’s air, sea and ground forces around Taiwan and carried out a “law-enforcement patrol” drill among other missions. Some CCG vessels deployed around the Senkaku Islands were confirmed to be dispatched to the area during the exercises.

China has also been conducting marine surveys and military exercises in the Western Pacific, including the area around Okinotorishima Island, Japan’s southernmost island. In mid-June, a Chinese government vessel installed a buoy in the northwestern part of the Shikoku Basin region, within Japan’s extended continental shelf.

With China’s growing maritime presence in mind, countries concerned are stepping up efforts to work together. In June last year, Japan, the United States and the Philippines conducted their first joint maritime drills in coastal waters in the northern Philippines. Last month, Japan, the United States and South Korea staged their first maritime exercises off Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, in the Sea of Japan.