Canadian Warships Stop in Japan Amid Military Drills in Tensed Region

HMCS OTTAWA’s embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter “GREYWOLF” conducts maneuvers near HMCS VANCOUVER and MV ASTERIX while the two ships perform a Liquid Replenishment At Sea (L-RAS) during transit of the Pacific Ocean on 20 August 2023. Aviator Gregory Cole, Canadian Armed Forces Photo

After participating in week-long joint military drills in the Northwestern Pacific, three Canadian ships arrived in Japan on Aug. 28 to replenish before continuing their activities in the region.

The Canadian vessels taking part in the deployment are His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Ottawa and Vancouver and supply ship MV Asterix, which is in part manned by civilians.

The ships arrived at Japan’s Yokosuka port in Tokyo on Aug. 28 after wrapping up a joint exercise with U.S. and Japanese navies off the Kuril Islands northeast of Japan.

Following the port of call in Yokosuka, the vessels are expected to take part in joint exercises with the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Australia, according to Japanese media Nikkei Asia.

Those include planned exercises in the Taiwan Strait, with previous drills in June leading to a close call after a Chinese navy ship cut off a U.S. destroyer. Taiwan is a self-governed island that Beijing seeks to bring under its communist rule.

The Department of National Defence (DND) has not publicly released details about the exercises and did not return an inquiry by publication time.

Along with tensions surrounding China, the deployment takes place shortly after a failed satellite launch by North Korea using ballistic missile technology on Aug. 24.

G7 foreign ministers issued a statement condemning the launch and implicitly criticized the stance of China and Russia on the matter. It says the repeated “blatant violations” of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, compounded with the obstruction of “some” UNSC members, is “cause for significant alarm.”

Canada is seeking to increase its military presence in the area as part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy released last year. The strategy calls for cooperating with China in some areas but challenging it in others.

The current deployment is not publicly presented as a way to counter China. Robert Watt, the Canadian defence attache to Japan, told reporters that “nothing in the current deployment is designed specifically against one nation or to deter any specific nation.”

Mr. Watt said the naval operation was aimed at deepening cooperation with allies and empowering Canada to play a more active role in regional security, as the number of warships deployed annually is set to rise from two to three.

Canada’s participation in naval exercises in China’s backyard takes place as Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is visiting Beijing from Aug. 26 to 31 in hopes of rebuilding strained ties between the two countries and nudging the Chinese regime on climate.