Many firsts are expected as the bilateral U.S.-Japan Keen Sword 27 military exercises — seen as a dress rehearsal for defending 91AV原创 southwestern island chain — kick off Monday.
The biannual exercises — the largest ever, bringing together about 45,000 Self-Defense Force personnel and 12,000 U.S. service members — will see Japan for the first time deploy its longer-range Type 25 surface-to-ship missiles outside their base in Kumamoto Prefecture.
The U.S. side, meanwhile, is sending an advanced anti-ship missile system to Yonaguni, an island in Okinawa Prefecture that lies just 110 kilometers from flash point Taiwan.
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