Japan for first time joins multinational Valiant Shield exercise near Guam (2024)

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The USS Ronald Reagan took center stage among eight warships in the Philippine Sea as the U.S. military commenced Valiant Shield, nearly two weeks of drills that included Japan for the first time.

The biennial exercise, in its 10th iteration since 2006, began Friday and ends June 18. It brings together all six arms of the U.S. military for drills on or near Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau.

The Japan Air and Maritime Self-Defense Forces are participating for the first time and are expected to bring about 4,000 troops, eight vessels and 60 aircraft into play, a Japanese government spokesperson told Stars and Stripes in May. Some Japanese government spokespeople are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

Training includes maritime interdiction, counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and command and control, according to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Haider Mullick, one of the exercise’s directors.

Numerous U.S., allied and partner nations’ ships and aircraft are involved in this year’s Valiant Shield, Mullick said by email Friday without going into details. Instead, he directed Stars and Stripes to imagery and news releases on the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service website.

The Ronald Reagan, which left Yokosuka Naval Base on May 16 for the final time ahead of being relieved by the USS George Washington, led a flotilla Friday in the Philippine Sea that included the command ship USS Blue Ridge, the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls and the guided-missile destroyers USS Higgins and USS Rafael Peralta.

They were joined by the Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Izumo, guided-missile destroyer JS Haguro and the attack submarine JS Taigei, according to a Sunday news release from the Ronald Reagan posted to DVIDS.

F-18 Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor and F-16 Falcon fighter jets, B-1 Lancer heavy bombers, an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft and a KC-46 Pegasus tanker from the U.S. flew in formation over the warships with Mitsubishi F-2 fighters and F-15 Eagles from the Air Self-Defense Force.

In the South China Sea on Friday, the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt led its own formation alongside the French frigate FS Bretagne, Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry and the guided-missile destroyers USS Russell, USS Daniel Inouye and USS Halsey, according to a Sunday post from the Theodore Roosevelt on DVIDS.

Valiant Shield aims to build “real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces by detecting, locating, tracking, and engaging units at sea, in the air, in space, on land, and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas,” Mullick said.

This year’s exercise comes less than a month after China wrapped its own, smaller-scale exercise around Taiwan: Joint Sword 2024A. Beijing launched the exercise in retaliation of “‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces seeking ‘independence,’” according to a statement from China’s Eastern Theater Command.

Joint Sword began May 23, three days after Taiwan inaugurated President Lai Ching-Te. In his inauguration speech, Lai called on China to “face the reality of [Taiwan’s] existence, respect the choices of the people of Taiwan.”

China views Taiwan, a functional democracy, as a breakaway province that must be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

The last Valiant Shield exercise, in 2022, brought together a similar set of participants, including more than 200 aircraft and around 13,000 personnel. It culminated with the live-fire destruction of a decommissioned frigate, the USS Vandergrift.

As the 2022 exercise concluded, a group of seven Russian ships that included frigates and destroyers were tracked 112 miles off Japan’s coast. Four Chinese ships were also spotted in waters around Japan a week prior.