Tensions may flare up in Koreas as US, Japan navies carry out drills in region
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The move seems to have been taken to deter provocation from North Korea. But the show of the military strength by the US and Japan is most likely to attract a sharp reaction from Kim Jong un-led nation. This comes amid speculation that North Korea is looking to hold another missile or nuclear test later this week
With the rise in the weapons tests carried out by North Korea, tensions are heightened in the region.
In what could flare it up more, US and Japanese warships have conducted joint naval exercise in the area on Tuesday and Wednesday.
It was led by the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. For the first time in five years, the US aircraft carrier has taken part in an exercise in waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
The move seems to have been taken to deter provocation from North Korea. But the show of the military strength by the US and Japan is most likely to attract a sharp reaction from Kim Jong un-led nation.
This comes amid speculation that North Korea is looking to hold another missile or nuclear test later this week.
A joint naval exercise was carried out in the Sea of Japan by the US 7th Fleet and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force.
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The ongoing joint exercise is "aimed at strengthening military cooperation between Japan and the United States, and is not keeping in mind a specific country.... We will continue to strengthen deterrence and response capability of the Japan-US Alliance and to do utmost for the defense of our country," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters.
In a tweet, the Japanese navy said, "Our works contribute to the regional peace and stability."
(With inputs from agencies)