Resolute Dragon Exercise Upsets the Chinese Navy East of Taiwan
Chinese hackles have been raised once again by Japanese and U.S. Marine maritime activity taking place in the seas around Taiwan, where the nearest Japanese island lies just over 60 nautical miles east of the Taiwanese coast.
Exercise Resolute Dragon involves both the U.S. Marine Corps and Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Forces (JGSDF) and is taking place over training areas in Kyushu, Okinawa, and the southwestern Japanese Nansei Chain islands of Miyako, Ishigaki, and Yonaguni. No activity is planned to take place on Senaku Island, which is contentious territory that has seen regular intrusions by Chinese PLA Navy vessels challenging Japanese sovereignty.
Japanese Nansei Chain islands, east of Taiwan, where Exercise Resolute Dragon is taking place
(Google Earth/Copernicus/CJRC)
Of particular concern to the PLAN will be the involvement of the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment from the 3rd Marine Division, which is permanently based at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, and is tasked alongside the JGSDF with defending Japan’s outlying islands. The 12th Marine Littoral Regiment received delivery of two new coastal artillery systems this month, namely the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS) and Marine Air Defense Integrated Systems (MADIS). These systems both deliver an upgrade to the range of weapons systems that are capable of countering PLAN air and drone intrusions, which, up until now, have been difficult to challenge. A second 3rd Marine Division unit, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment based in Hawaii, received the same NMESIS and MADIS equipment somewhat earlier in 2024, and exercised with these systems in the Philippines during Exercise Balikatan 2026, which concluded last month.
The JGSDF will also benefit for the first time from the deployment of two new amphibious ships designed with beach landing support for the Nansei Chain islands in mind. Both the 80m Nihonbare (L4151) and 120m Yoko (L4101) are the first of a planned 10-strong multi-class fleet of similar vessels, which will be based at the Kure Naval Base near Hiroshima.
Japan's new amphibious ship Yoko loading for the exercise (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)
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The deployment of new and capable US littoral defense systems, and the increasing sophistication of exercises that the United States is carrying out with its allies in the East and South China Sea areas appear to be touching a raw nerve with the editors of the China Military website, which is a good barometer of Chinese Wolf Warrior concerns. While China Military likes to advertise the prowess of PLAN capability, with reports of deployments and exercises, it appears to be equally focused on the tougher defense policy and bigger defense spending of Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, but also with the tighter and deeper integration of US and Japanese forces operating alongside allied forces in the Southeast Asian region.