Service members from the United States, Japan and Australia work together during the Keen Edge exercise at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Feb. 1, 2024. (Jonathan Wright/U.S. Marine Corps)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — American, Japanese and Australian troops have kicked off the latest in a series of command-post and field-training exercises at bases in Japan and Hawaii, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
Keen Edge, which began Feb. 1 and concludes Thursday, includes greater synchronization with the U.S. Space and Cyber commands than past drills, according to an INDOPACOM news release issued at the exercise’s start.
The command did not provide the number of troops involved in the drills or give details about the exercise scenario.
“During Keen Edge 24, Japanese, U.S. and Australian headquarters staffs will employ computer simulations to practice responses in the event of a crisis or contingency,” the statement said.
Keen Edge is “almost by definition directed at China,” according to Grant Newsham, a retired Marine colonel and senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo.
“China is the only plausible answer and has been for at least a decade,” he said by email Friday. “And that, by definition, means you’re also getting ready to fight over Taiwan — since it will be China that is causing the trouble for Taiwan.”
Adding cyber and space into the exercise mix is further evidence the allies are preparing for Beijing, Newsham said.
The training could be useful for a fight with North Korea, and Russia is a potential problem, but the main threat in the region, by far, is China, he added.
Keen Edge is part of the annual U.S.-Japan exercise series that alternates between field training drills such as Keen Sword — last held in late 2022 — and command post exercises, the INDOPACOM statement said.
U.S. participants come from INDOPACOM, U.S. Forces Japan, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Marine Forces Pacific, Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Army Pacific and U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, INDOPACOM spokesman Navy Cmdr. Matthew Comer said by email Friday.
The primary exercise locations are Yokota, the headquarters of USFJ in western Tokyo; Japan’s Ministry of Defense in central Tokyo; and Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, the INDOPACOM headquarters, Comer said.
