Count: Five US Military Exercises in the Asia-Pacific Region

Introduction: After US President Barack Obama ended his visit to the Philippines, the United States and the Philippines began the annual large-scale joint military exercise "shoulder to shoulder" on May 5. In fact, the United States has a long history of joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, and joint exercises are an important means of "Asia-Pacific rebalancing." Since the beginning of 20 14, the U.S. military has organized several joint military exercises around China to deepen military cooperation with countries around China and increase the bargaining chip for returning to the Asia-Pacific region.

United States and Philippines: Joint Military Exercises Side by Side

"Side by side" is an annual routine joint military exercise between the Philippines and the United States, aiming at strengthening cooperation between the two countries in dealing with terrorism, piracy, smuggling and natural disasters. This exercise is the first large-scale bilateral joint exercise between the Philippines and the United States after signing an agreement to strengthen defense cooperation a few days ago.

It is reported that the joint military exercise between the two countries will last for two weeks, and 5,500 American and Filipino soldiers will participate. The joint military exercise between the two countries will further strengthen the crisis response capability of the Philippine army, and will also improve the efficiency of its anti-terrorism operations and the coordination of cooperation with the US military.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama paid a visit to the Philippines on April 28th. Three hours before Obama arrived in Manila, the United States and the Philippines signed a new military agreement after several rounds of arduous negotiations, and the US military was able to re-enter the Philippine military base after more than 20 years. Subsequently, Badino, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Philippines and head of the Philippine negotiating team for the Agreement on Strengthening Defense Cooperation between the United States and the Philippines, said that the Philippines would open up to five military bases in the country for the United States to replace planes, ships and troops.

Military sources familiar with the negotiations said that the United States also asked the Philippines to open three bases that once belonged to the Aquinas Battalion, the Philippine military headquarters of the United States and Manila.

Korean peninsula: joint military exercise of "key decision" and "vulture"

The armored vehicle that participated in the military exercise was filmed in Busan Port, South Korea on March 20th. On the same day, the "vulture" Korea-US joint military exercise continued. The joint field maneuver exercise codenamed "Vulture" was held from March/KLOC-0 to April 30. The United States and South Korea began to hold joint military exercises codenamed "Critical Decision" and "Vulture" on February 24th. US and South Korean officials said that the exercise will be "low-key" than last year, considering the meeting between separated relatives of South Korea and North Korea.

The "key decision" exercise belongs to the command post exercise, which lasts from February 24th to March 6th. The "key decision" exercise is held once a year to ensure that the US-South Korea Coalition forces are ready to respond to the North Korean attack and train the Coalition forces to respond to any potential emergencies on the peninsula. Mainly by computer simulation, about 1 000 Korean troops and 5,200 American troops participated, among which about 1 1 000 American troops came from American bases outside Korea.

The "vulture" military exercise is one of the largest military exercises in the world. Its main purpose is to show the determination of the US and South Korean troops to contain the Korean Peninsula war and enhance the synthesis and joint combat situation of the allied forces. 20 14 "vulture" military exercise is expected to last from February 24th to April 18. This military exercise is mainly based on synthetic and joint field training, involving ground, air force, navy, special forces and other operations. A total of 7,500 US troops participated, including 5 100 from outside Korea. The exercise tested South Korea's self-defense ability with the support of the United States, including key assets maneuvering to front areas, special operations, ground maneuvers, amphibious operations, air operations, maritime action group operations and anti-special operations force exercises.

According to Yonhap News Agency, compared with last year, the number of US troops participating in the "Critical Decision" military exercise increased, while the number of those participating in the "Vulture" military exercise decreased. The reason is that the reduction of US budget leads to the reduction of military expenditure, so we can only "give up" the field training with high cost and strengthen the computer simulation military exercise with less equipment and materials.

In South Korea, due to the use of some troops to deal with the bird flu epidemic and the severe snow on the east coast of South Korea, the number of "vulture" military exercises decreased this year, and about 200,000 Korean troops participated in the "vulture" military exercise last year.

The United States and South Korea have jointly staged a large-scale air show "Super Thunder" to coordinate operations.

The Korean Air Force Combat Command announced on June 10 that the Korean and American Air Forces will hold a large-scale air joint combat exercise in South Korea's airspace from June 1 1 to improve the wartime air cooperative combat capability.

The Air Force Combat Command said that the exercise was code-named "Super Thunder" and lasted from 1 1 to the 25th. The United States and South Korea will invest 103 aircraft and 1400 pilots, which is the largest joint air exercise between the two countries in recent years.

In this military exercise, South Korea will dispatch F- 15K, KF- 16 fighters, and the United States will dispatch F- 15, F- 16 and early warning aircraft reconnaissance planes. Subjects include four to eight fighter planes cooperating in air combat and destroying the enemy's air defense system in the case of total war.

On the same day, a South Korean military source revealed that the military imported 24 multi-function radars from Britain and conducted actual combat tests to strengthen the low-altitude detection capability of the South Korean military. Recently, South Korea discovered three unmanned reconnaissance planes suspected to be from North Korea, which attracted great attention from the Korean ruling and opposition parties. The South Korean military promised to take a series of measures to strengthen air defense capacity building.

Thailand: Golden Cobra Exercise

The "Golden Cobra" exercise is a multinational exercise jointly sponsored by the United States and Thailand. Held once a year since 198 1, it is the largest multinational and multi-service exercise in Southeast Asia. The 20 14 exercise lasted from February 1 1 to February 2 1. South Korea, the United States, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and other eight countries sent 10 ships and more than 7,800 troops to participate in the exercise.

The exercise is divided into three parts: command post exercise, field exercise, humanitarian and civil support. The exercise was conducted against the background of a civil war caused by ethnic conflicts and a humanitarian crisis caused by a strong typhoon in a country in Southeast Asia. Among them, field exercises include joint live-fire shooting, amphibious landing, strategic airborne, medical rescue, supply support and multinational subjects implemented in diverse terrain, such as jungle survival.

Locklear, commander of the US Pacific Command, said at the opening ceremony of the exercise on February 1 1 that the US military attaches great importance to the exercises with Thailand and other countries, and hopes to better cope with the security challenges such as disaster relief and deepen mutual trust with relevant parties through the exercises. American military officers said that the "Golden Cobra" exercise aims to strengthen the planning and implementation of synthetic joint operations, build and strengthen the relationship between partner countries, and promote interoperability in the field of military operations through unified agreements and processes.

The us military believes that joint exercises are conducive to future operations. When it is necessary to cooperate with the local army, the US military can be prepared for unified action, and it is not necessary to establish military requirements at that time, as long as the task is completed safely and smoothly. 20 13 10/month, 1 1, Typhoon Haiyan swept the Philippine Islands, and the US military logistics forces and the Philippine army rescued it, which proved the necessity of military integration with friendly forces.

In addition, the US military's "Sister in Hand" project went international in the "Golden Cobra" exercise, which was called the "first international sister" project. The "Sisters in Hand" project was founded by the Pacific Sisters in Hand Committee of the US Army. Its motto is "born from the same root, connected with the same gas, self-contained." With the symbol of bodhi tree, it is open to all, with the purpose of educating, guiding and making women strong.

Women have served in the U.S. military for more than 100 years, and have played the role of consultants for even longer. The theme of this "First International Sisters" is how women face the challenge of serving life. Topics discussed range from various consulting projects to balancing professional and family life. Female soldier representatives from several countries participated in the first international sisterhood project, which aims to empower women by developing strong ties and partnerships. Participants included female soldiers from the US Army, Royal Thai Army, Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force.

At present, under the background of "Asia-Pacific rebalancing" strategy and "air-sea battle" concept, the US Army is actively transforming. One of the important roles of the US military in the Asia-Pacific region is to provide support to its allies, shape the strategic environment and conduct strategic communication. This "Sister Hand in Hand" project is the first new content in the exercise, which is in line with the purpose of the US Army's shaping activities.

Japan: "Sharp Blade" joint military exercise

The US-Japan "Sharps" joint military exercise is a biennial joint command post exercise, which aims to enhance the combat readiness and synchronous cooperation between the US military and the Japanese Joint Staff. The theme of the 20 14 Sharp joint military exercise is to improve the regional ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability. "Ballistic missile defense is one of the tasks of the United States and Japan," said Major Matthew Crobu, an integrated air defense and missile defense officer of the Seventh Fleet.

The duration of "Sword 20 14" is1October 27th 65438+ to 3 1, and the drill is conducted in a 24-hour continuous operation mode. It uses a computer-based system to simulate a potential real crisis and test the real-time response ability of all relevant personnel and units. The focus of "Sword 20 14" exercise is to promote rapid and efficient response to possible crisis events in the Pacific region through communication and cooperation among partner organizations.

More than 500 soldiers from the US Army, Navy and Air Force and the Marine Corps participated in the exercise with the Japanese Self-Defense Force. The exercise focused on force protection, ballistic missile defense, state support and non-combatant evacuation.

The U.S. military said that the exercise provided the troops with an opportunity to learn how various departments of the U.S. military work and the specific tasks and functions of different departments. "Sword 20 14" will help the US military to establish a cooperative relationship with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, ensure that the US military can effectively play its role, let the allies provide credible and practical defense capabilities, and ensure regional security and stability.

The 94th Army Aviation and Missile Defense Command of the US Army participated in the "Sharps 20 14" exercise held at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, with the focus on testing its interoperability with Japanese counterparts and other US troops. The Air Defense and Missile Defense Command of the 94th Army should respond to the script-based simulated missile attack that may occur at any time during the exercise. The headquarters also sent several soldiers in advance to participate in the exercise as coordinators at Yokota Air Force Base in Japan.

Major Jackson Albright, liaison officer for operations and reserve personnel of the 94th Command, said that the purpose of Japanese reserve personnel is to maintain and increase mutual trust, which is the development result of their cooperative relationship in previous exercises. This helps to provide effective information, which is very important for perfecting the plan and helping to solve complex strategic problems. In addition, it also helps to establish partnerships at all levels, from combat officers to generals. Although Japan holds a "sharp-edged" joint military exercise every two years, every time the tactics, technologies and processes of various countries change, new challenges will arise. However, these challenges can be overcome through good and continuous communication. By understanding the tactics, technologies and processes for protecting their key and important facilities, and by frequently participating in joint and bilateral planning, working groups and committees, the two sides have established partnership capabilities. "

Major Jackson Albright also said: "The challenge in training is to integrate Japan's excellent situational awareness into the well-distributed perception in the Pacific Army Command theater, which not only provides defense support for Japan, but also provides defense support for the theater. The key point is to gain experience that can be used to strengthen and improve the operational plans of the two countries and joint forces through the joint efforts of the front-end personnel of the 94th Command, Japanese counterparts and the * * * sent by the Command to the Hawaiian Pacific Air Force 6 13 Operational Center. "