For a massive naval drill

And China is the reason

Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

Japan and the United States are  doing joint military drills!

You know, there's been a lot of news  about military operations lately.  

I wonder if that says anything about  where global China relations are headed?

Now before I tell you more, did you know 60%  of you who watch the show aren't subscribed?  

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So these drills are obviously  all about China. Carl Schuster,  

a former director of operations at the US  Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center,  

said “The large-scale exercises have  strong 'deterrent value' toward China.”

The drill is known as Keen Sword 21.

Uhh, that's the official name,  but not the official branding.

These drills between the US and Japan have  happened every 2 years for the past 30 years. 

They involve dozens of warships,  hundreds of aircraft and 46,000  

soldiers, sailors and marines  from Japan and the United States.

And in 2020, for the first time, it will  include cyber and electronic warfare training.

Japan's biggest warship, the Kaga, was joined by  the US aircraft carrier the USS Ronald Reagan.

The Kaga will be refitted  to be able to carry the F-35  

stealth fighter jet within the next two years. 

That follows a 23 billion-dollar sale  back in July for 147 F-35s to Japan.

The fighter jets supplement Japan's  homemade fighting force, obviously.

Now there are a couple key things to keep  in mind about these joint naval drills. 

Number 1—this is the first big US Japan military  drill since Japan got its new prime minister,  

Yoshihide Suga. And there were concerns  that maybe he wouldn't carry through on  

the tough-on-China policies that his  predecessor, Shinzo Abe believed in.

That's looking like it won't be  an issue. According to Reuters,  

Suga has vowed “to continue [Japan's]  military build-up aimed at countering China.”

Earlier last month, Suga sent three vessels to  

the South China Sea in an anti-submarine  exercise—also aimed at countering China.

Plus, Suga has been meeting with  countries in Southeast Asia,  

like Vietnam and Indonesia—also to counter China.

You see, Japan and all these countries surrounding  the South China Sea have something in common.  

Territorial disputes with China.

Which brings me to my 2nd big point. China  claims pretty much the entire South China Sea.  

China also claims islands in the East  China Sea that Japan says belongs to  

Japan. These are the Senkaku Islands, or  Diaoyu Islands as they're known in China.

This month, China sent two Coast Guard  ships into these disputed waters.

“It marked the 21st time this year that  Chinese boats have entered Japanese waters.”

So China has become more and more aggressive. That  seems to be the theme of the year, doesn't it?

Japan has a mutual defense  treaty with the United States. So  

in the event of a Chinese attack,  the US is obligated to respond. Hence  

military drills, where the two  militaries practice working together.

“Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider,  commander of US Forces Japan,  

said the exercises would demonstrate the ability  of the US-Japan alliance 'to deliver combat troops  

to defend the Senkakus or respond  to other crises or contingencies.'"

So yeah, these drills are specifically  related to the disputed islands.

Back in July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  

“included the Senkakus dispute as one of the  areas in the Indo-Pacific where he said China  

was 'instigating territorial disputes' as part  of a pattern of “bullying” its Asian neighbors.

Which in a way, is kind of ironic.  The Chinese Communist Party is using  

these strongman tactics against all its  neighbors to seem tough. But the result is  

all China's neighbors are now getting  into alliances aimed at countering  

China. So it actually puts China in a weaker  position than if they just hadn't done anything.

Speaking of which:  

This month, the US and Japan will be joining India  and Australia for even more joint military drills.  

Those are called the Malabar drilling ls. And  these four countries have an alliance known as  

the Quad—a regional alliance geared toward  countering the Chinese Communist Party. 

Now maybe all these joint military  drills are leaving you feeling a bit  

anxious. Like something bad's going to happen.  Well don't worry. “In coordination with public  

health and military medical personnel, every  aspect of Keen Sword is continually being assessed  

to ensure appropriate Covid-19  mitigation measures are taken.”

That's what you were worried about, right?

Of course China doesn't want to feel left out  while everybody is doing joint military drills.  

So China is doing their own joint  military drills. With themselves.

“China's People's Liberation Army is in the  midst of two sets of military exercises in the  

Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, according to a posting  on the PLA's official English language website.  

The nature of the exercises was not disclosed.”

And China would just like to remind you,  “its intentions in the region are peaceful.”

Great! Nothing to worry about then. 

And now, it's time for me to answer  another question from one of you,  

a fan who supports China Uncensored  on the crowd funding website Patreon.

Tim Ellington asks “Since Covid began I've  been waiting for the national media to go  

back to paying attention to the Hong Kong protests  but they seem distracted. What a lucky accident  

for the CCP! Wait - was it an accident? Am  I turning into a conspiracy theorist now?

Well Tim, I can tell you the  Chinese Communist Party has  

definitely used the coronavirus  to its advantage in Hong Kong. 

Obviously while the coronavirus  lockdown was in effect,  

mass protests like this two million person  march we went to last year became impossible.

And while things were in lockdown,  a wave of arrests happened.

These included “prominent pro-democracy figures  in politics, civil society and the media”.

The CCP also never really  liked that Hong Kong holds an  

annual memorial for the Tiananmen Square Massacre.  

Well this year, because of the coronavirus, you  know, Hong Kong officials banned the gathering.

But that only fueled more resentment  towards the Chinese Communist Party.  

Which I'm sure will have a big impact on  Hong Kong legislative council elections.  

Except...those were also postponed  for a year over virus concerns.

Does that mean it's a conspiracy? Well,  I prefer to think the Chinese Communist  

Party is just filled with optimists! When  life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When  

life gives you a deadly global pandemic that  you caused, take away Hong Kong's freedoms.

Thanks for your question, Tim.  If that is your real name.

And thank you for watching. Remember, it's  hard for us to keep this show running.  

There's not a lot of money in criticizing China.  

Which is why we rely on your support on the  crowd funding website Patreon. For as little as  

a dollar an episode, you can help us in our  fight against the Chinese Communist Party.  

Head over to patreon.com/chinauncensored.  You'll also get some other cool perks.

Once again I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time.