NAVAL BASE GUAM: Multinational amphibious exercises on the US Pacific island of Guam were moving ahead as scheduled on Saturday, one day after being suspended when a French landing craft ran aground.
First Lt. Joshua Hays, a spokesman for the US 3rd Marine Division, said Japanese soldiers will practice rubber craft raids. On Sunday, US Marines plan to conduct live-fire training with French troops.
The weeklong maneuvers, which also involve the UK, were intended to show support for the free passage of vessels in international waters amid concerns China may restrict access to the South China Sea.
They’re being held around Guam and Tinian islands, US islands that are about 2,400 km south of Tokyo and east of Manila, Philippines.
The exercises feature two French ships currently on a four-month deployment to the Indian and Pacific oceans. Some 50 Japanese soldiers and 160 Japanese sailors were due to participate, along with UK helicopters and 70 UK troops deployed with one of the French ships.
On Friday, the drills came to a halt when a French landing craft ran aground just as the exercises were getting underway. US officials said they stopped the drills so they could assess the situation.
First Lt. Joshua Hays, a spokesman for the US 3rd Marine Division, said Japanese soldiers will practice rubber craft raids. On Sunday, US Marines plan to conduct live-fire training with French troops.
The weeklong maneuvers, which also involve the UK, were intended to show support for the free passage of vessels in international waters amid concerns China may restrict access to the South China Sea.
They’re being held around Guam and Tinian islands, US islands that are about 2,400 km south of Tokyo and east of Manila, Philippines.
The exercises feature two French ships currently on a four-month deployment to the Indian and Pacific oceans. Some 50 Japanese soldiers and 160 Japanese sailors were due to participate, along with UK helicopters and 70 UK troops deployed with one of the French ships.
On Friday, the drills came to a halt when a French landing craft ran aground just as the exercises were getting underway. US officials said they stopped the drills so they could assess the situation.
