00:00More than 17,000 troops from seven countries.
00:03This year's Balikatan military exercise, led by the U.S. and the Philippines, is underway.
00:07In a historic first, Japan is joining as a full participant with combat troops.
00:12That could signal a broader shift, as Japan moves away from post-war pacifism that defined
00:17much of its foreign policy for decades.
00:19Let's say in the last five or six years, Japan has become sort of like a new mini
00:26hub-and-spoke country for the Indo-Pacific region, where it set up reciprocal access agreements
00:33and acquisition and cross-service agreements with many, many countries.
00:37What we see here is now a sort of like another big step for Japan.
00:44And while Japan has moved to bolster its own defensive capabilities, it's also looking to
00:49share its advances with like-minded countries. On Tuesday, it loosened its self-imposed restrictions
00:53on arms exports. That follows a $7 billion deal to supply Australia with cutting-edge warships
00:59signed last week. This comes as Tokyo's relations with Beijing are at a low point,
01:04after Prime Minister Takechi Senai said last November that Japan could potentially intervene
01:08in a Taiwan Strait conflict. Since then, Japan has deployed missile systems to islands near Taiwan
01:13and China. And last Friday, a Japanese destroyer transited the strait for the first time in Takechi's term.
01:19Japan's recent moves and its participation in Belikatan are not going over well in Beijing.
01:25Japan should be able to force the military security in the military's area,
01:31and not to force the force to destroy the area.
01:35China says the Belikatan exercise will result in quote, division and confrontation. It sent warships to the
01:41Western Pacific to do their own training during the drills. With this flurry of military activity,
01:45eyes across the Indo-Pacific will be watching just how regional tensions continue to develop.
01:50Joseph Wu and Larry Siano for Taiwan Plus.
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