US leads ships in biggest Japan war game

US fighter jets darted over the Western Pacific on Saturday as the nuclear powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier joined Japanese destroyers and a Canadian warship for the biggest combat readiness war game ever staged in and around Japan.

Japan and the United States have mobilized 57,000 sailors, marines and airmen for the biennial Keen Sword exercise, 11,000 more than in 2016, with simulated air combat, amphibious landings and ballistic missile defence drills. Japan’s contingent of 47,000 personnel represents a fifth of the nation’s armed forces. “We are here to stabilize, and preserve our capability should it be needed. Exercises like Keen Sword are exactly the kind of thing we need to do,” Rear Admiral Karl Thomas, the commander of the carrier strike group, said during a press briefing in the Reagan’s focsle as F-18 fighter jets catapulted off the flight deck above him. Eight other ships joined the carrier for anti-submarine warfare drills in a show of force in waters that Washington and Tokyo fear will increasingly come under Beijing’s influence.

Beginning 5 November, the US administration under President Donald Trump will be imposing the “toughest ever” sanctions on Iran, which it said is “not intended at the Iranian people, but the authoritarian Iranian regime to change its behaviour”.

While announcing the sanctions, the US administration hinted at waiving off restrictions on eight countries from importing oil from Iran, which will bring a big relief to India as it is one among the eight nations allowed to continue buy Iranian oil.

Talking to media on Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “On 5 November, the United States will reimpose sanctions that were lifted as part of the nuclear deal on Iran’s energy, shipbuilding, shipping and banking sectors. These sanctions hit at core areas of Iran’s economy. These economic sanctions are just a part of the US government’s total effort to change the behaviour of the Iranian regime… They are necessary to spur changes we seek on the part of the regime.”

Local media reported about Trump’s tweet on the upcoming sanctions on Iran. On Twitter, in a message designed to emphasise his “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran, Trump included a photograph of himself modelled on an entertainment industry poster with the headline: “Sanctions are coming November 5.”

While senior officials refused to name the eight countries, but according to local media here in the US, India, South Korea and Japan are among the exempted nations, which shows the “closeness to the US administration”, say many on the Capitol. Pompeo said on Friday, citing “significant reductions” in imports of oil from the Persian Gulf nation. India is one of the countries expected to get the exemptions.

Local analysts say China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Japan have been top importers of Iran’s oil, while Taiwan occasionally buys cargoes of Iranian crude, but is not a major buyer. Under US law, exceptions can be granted for up to 180 days.

“In the current geopolitically challenging scenario, India has managed to convince international leaders.”