Two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) ships, from the Japan Training Squadron, have visited the UK for port calls. The visits provided the opportunity for senior officials to reiterate the combined commitment to collective international security.
Between 5 and 9 September, the two ships – Training Vessels JS Kashima and JS Shimakaze – visited London and Southampton, respectively. The visits were part of a series of port calls taking place while the ships are undertaking a global ‘Overseas Training Cruise’ between May and November.
The deployment provides at-sea training on seamanship skills for the newly commissioned officers onboard. It is also intended to promote goodwill and “contribute to the realization of a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific”, the JMSDF said, in a statement released when the ships sailed in May.
In remarks onboard Kashima in London on 5 September, welcoming the ships and opening a media visit, His Excellency Ambassador Hajime Hayashi, Japan’s ambassador to London, said the visit “symbolises the close co-ordination and exchanges between the JMSDF and the UK Royal Navy [RN]”.
Since the two ships last visited the UK, in 2022, “the two countries have nurtured quite dramatic progress in our security and defence co-operation. [Such] co-operation is one of the key pillars of our bilateral, close, global partnership,” said Ambassador Hayashi. This partnership, he continued, includes the shared values of democracies, rule of law, free society, and human rights. “We also have common strategic interests under very similar and serious challenges in the world, [so] it is more and more necessary for the two countries to work on our co-operation and collaboration in the security and defence field,” the ambassador added.
Onboard the two ships are 190 newly commissioned officers: these officers graduated from the JMSDF’s Maritime Officer Candidate School earlier in 2024. In a press hand-out, Rear Admiral Takahiro Nishiyama – Commander, Japan Training Squadron – said “The purpose of the ‘Overseas Training Cruise’ is to develop the seamanship of the newly commissioned officers though various training [activities] at sea, as they foster their international perspectives, while at the same time we promote friendly relationships with port-of-call countries.”
During the media visit, Rear Adm Nishiyama said “As the security environment surrounding the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions becomes increasingly challenging, the partnership between Japan and the UK has strengthened more than ever in recent years.” As regards the naval contribution to this partnership, the admiral said “Our port visits will further deepen defence co-operation and exchanges between the JMSDF and the RN, and together we will contribute to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific, and maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law.”
The UK port calls were the latest stage in the ‘Overseas Training Cruise 2024’ deployment, which is covering approximately 35,000 miles. The ships will visit 11 countries. They have crossed the Indian Ocean, and visits to Brunei, the Seychelles, South Africa, Senegal, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and Germany have already taken place: from the UK, the ships are heading across the Atlantic and will stop twice in the United States – at Norfolk, Virginia, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with Mexico in between. The ships will return to Japan across the Pacific Ocean.
Alongside port calls, at-sea exercises are conducted with some host navies. The ships have also exercised with the Algerian and French navies, and worked with two of NATO’s standing naval forces, Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG2).
by Dr. Lee Willett
