By Sun Wenzhu
It is reported that the multinational exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, led by the US and Australia, was held in Australia and surrounding areas from July 13 to August 4. As a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan has participated in the joint exercises six times between 2015 and 2025.
Over the past decade, Japan has gradually broken away from the constraints of the pacifist constitution and the "exclusively defense-oriented" policy through its participation in the Exercise Talisman Sabre. This reflects Tokyo's ongoing efforts to move beyond the post-war system, expand its military influence overseas, and pursue its ambition of reemerging as a regional military power, which seriously undermines peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and challenges the post-war international order.
The biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre series began in 2005. The 2025 iteration includes over 35,000 personnel from 19 countries, including the US, Australia, Japan, the ROK, the UK, and France, and, for the first time, extends beyond Australian territory to Papua New Guinea, making it the largest exercise in the history of the series. In 2015, Japan shifted from an observer role to a full participant in the exercises. Since then, the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) have taken part in it six times over the past decade.
Japan has used the Exercise Talisman Sabre series to steadily enhance its offensive military capabilities. Since its first participation in 2015, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) has regularly dispatched amphibious units to take part in landing drills simulating so-called "island recapture" operations, a recurring training scenario in Japan's involvement in the exercises. Starting in 2019, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has deployed major warships such as the helicopter carrier Izumo and the helicopter destroyer JS Ise to participate alongside aircraft carriers and similar vessels from the US, the UK, and Australia, thereby improving its cooperative combat ability in air and naval warfare. During the 2023 exercise, Japan conducted its first-ever test launches of the Type 12 surface-to-ship missile and the Type 03 surface-to-air missile on Australian territory. By doing so, Japan used Australian soil to circumvent its domestic legal restrictions and completed live-fire drills that would not have been permitted on its territory. In 2025, Japan once again conducted test launches of the aforementioned two types of missiles during the exercise and, for the first time, participated in space warfare training. Japan's intention to consistently use overseas military exercises to enhance its offensive military capabilities has become increasingly apparent.
In recent years, Japan has sought to build a "US-Japan Plus" security cooperation framework based on the US-Japan alliance, aiming to expand its influence across the so-called Indo-Pacific region and even globally. Since 2022, Japan has successively signed Reciprocal Access Agreements (RAAs) with countries such as Australia, the UK, and the Philippines to establish "quasi-alliance" relationships. During the Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, the JSDF conducted test launches of the Type 12 missile with support from the Australian military and provided support to French forces in amphibious landing drills. Building on this, Japan plans to dispatch approximately 600 members of its Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB) to participate in the US Marine Corps' annual training deployment at Darwin Base, where they will train alongside Australian forces under the guidance of the US Marine Corps on littoral combat operations. In addition, among the participating countries in the Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea are all recipients of Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA) framework. Under the pretext of maintaining defense cooperation, Japan has sought to draw these countries into the joint exercise in an attempt to win them over.
By using the exercise to test multiple weapons systems, Japan continues to enhance its offensive military capabilities, which has raised serious concerns among its Asian neighbors about the possible resurgence of Japanese militarism. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Japan should take a hard look at its responsibility for the war crimes, draw lessons from history, be prudent with its words and deeds in the military and security domains, abandon the Cold War mentality, and act to keep the region peaceful and stable. Only in this way can it gain the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community.
(The author is an associate research fellow at the Department for American Studies, China Institute of International Studies.)
