The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the U.S. Navy began their bilateral maritime field exercise, Annual Exercise ‘19, in the waters surrounding Japan, Nov. 10, U.S. 7th Fleet reported.
The annual bilateral exercise provides the two allies the ability to practice and evaluate coordination procedures and interoperability elements while further building on bilateral relationships.
Throughout the exercise, the JMSDF and U.S. forces will work together in air, surface, and subsurface battlespaces, requiring all participating units to train in a comprehensive scenario that is designed to practice critical capabilities needed to support the defense of Japan and respond to a potential crisis or contingency in the Indo-Pacific region.
Besides the US and Japan assets, HMAS HOBART 39 and PARRAMATTA 154 from Royal Australian Navy and HMCS OTTAWA 341 from Royal Canadian Navy are attending the exercise.
