On May 13, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) announced it will conduct a joint exercise with the South Korean Marine Corps in the Philippines in early June, part of a larger multilateral drill.
If it goes according to plan, this will mark the first time for the JGSDF to hold a joint exercise with any South Korean ground force, namely, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Corps and ROK Army.
However, South Korean media such as Yonhap news agency and News1 reported on the same day that the ROK Marine Corps has no plans to conduct joint training with the JGSDF.
The two nations signed a memorandum to institutionalize security cooperation, including information sharing and joint training, at the Japan-South Korea-U.S. defense ministers’ meeting held in Tokyo on July 28, 2024. The naval and air forces of Japan and South Korea have already conducted joint training within the framework of the Japan-South Korea-U.S. trilateral and other groupings.
However, it has been long regarded as very difficult for the JGSDF to work with its South Korean counterpart. This is because historically the Imperial Japanese Army had played a central role in Japan’s military and political control over the Korean Peninsula, which developed from the start of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894. Japan fully colonized the peninsula from 1910 until its defeat and the end of World War II in 1945.
Given the fraught history, a joint drill involving the ground forces of the two East Asian nations would represent yet another sign of a healthier bilateral relationship between Tokyo and Seoul – if it comes to pass.
The JGSDF said the exercise will be part of multilateral drills called KAMANDAG 9, with a focus on natural disasters and other emergencies. It also includes participation from the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the Philippine Marine Corps. KAMANDAG 9 is scheduled to take place in the Quezon area of Palawan Island and at Marine Corps Base Bonifacio on Luzon Island in the Philippines from May 26 to June 6. Japan and South Korea have both taken part in past KAMANDAG exercises, but always participated in separate drills.
An officer with the ROK Marine Corps told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that would be the case again this year, saying there was “no plan” to hold joint drills with the JGSDF. “We will conduct combined drills with the United States and the Philippines [at KAMANDAG 9], but have no plan to do so with the JGSDF,” Yonhap quoted the ROK Marine Corps officer as saying. “Just like last year, the South Korean Marine Corps and JGSDF will hold separate exercises.”
In response, a spokesperson at the JGSDF on May 14 pointed out to The Diplomat the fact that during KAMANDAG 9, for the first time there will be integrated exercises involving four countries, including Japan and South Korea. The drills are scheduled to take place on June 1 and 2.
“Although this is not a separate bilateral drill with the South Korean Marine Corps, we regard this as both participating in the same multilateral drill,” the spokesperson said, adding that “there seems to be a difference in perception.”
“In any case, we are currently confirming the situation,” the spokesperson stressed.
The spokesperson told The Diplomat that a total of about 110 personnel will participate from the JGSDF, mainly from the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, which is responsible for the defense of remote islands. About 50 personnel from the South Korean Marine Corps and about 200 personnel from the Philippine Marine Corps will also participate, while the U.S. Marine Corps will send two MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft and several crew members.
The JGSDF said its objectives in participating in the joint training are to improve disaster relief and humanitarian assistance capabilities through amphibious operations conducted in cooperation with regional partners and to further contribute to the realization of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
On November 8, 2024, General Yoshida Yoshihide, chief of staff of the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, gave a speech to about 200 South Korean military cadets who were visiting Tokyo.
“The Joint Staff Office will continue to steadily advance defense cooperation with the ROK, contributing not only to peace and stability in Northeast Asia but also to the realization of a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” the JSO said in a press release at that time.
Under former South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and between Japan, the United States, and South Korea, made great strides, with the goal of deepening security cooperation apparently against North Korea and other regional rivals. However, Yoon’s impeachment in early April threw many of his policies, including the emphasis on renewed Japan-South Korea relations, into question.
South Korea will elect a new president on June 3, the day after the Japanese and South Korean ground forces are reportedly scheduled to take part in the exercises.