The Maritime Self-Defense Force will participate for the first time in a multilateral submarine rescue drill in the South China Sea next month, the MSDF said Tuesday.
The drill, Pacific Reach 2000, coming on the heels of Russia's Kursk submarine tragedy, will be held from Oct. 2 to 14 near Singapore, involving the navies of Singapore, South Korea and the United States as well as the MSDF, which will send a submarine and rescue vessel, according to MSDF officials.
Although the MSDF has conducted submarine rescue exercises with the U.S. Navy before, it has refrained from participating in multilateral drills due to potential constitutional constraints against collective-defense exercises.