Japanese and Taiwanese coast guards hold joint search and rescue drill off Japan’s eastern coast

Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese and Taiwanese coast guards have conducted what is believed to be their first joint drill off Japan’s eastern coast, officials said Friday, a move seen as an effort to expand maritime cooperation amid concern about China’s increasingly assertive activity in regional seas. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi Friday denied the drill targeted any third country including China. Tokyo has been stepping up its coast guard capability and expanding joint exercises. Japan’s coast guard had its first trilateral joint search and rescue drills with the U.S. and South Korean counterparts in June.