By Sun Wenzhu
孫文竹
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.
據(jù)報道，7月13日至8月4日，由美國及澳大利亞主辦的“護身軍刀2025”多國聯(lián)合軍演在澳大利亞及周邊地區(qū)舉行。作為美國在亞太地區(qū)的重要盟友，日本2015年至2025年已六度參加“護身軍刀”聯(lián)合軍演。
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.
10年來，日本通過參加“護身軍刀”，逐步突破“和平憲法”與“專守防衛(wèi)”原則的束縛，試圖擺脫戰(zhàn)后體制，折射出其持續(xù)在海外擴張軍事影響、企圖再度成為地區(qū)軍事大國的戰(zhàn)略野心，嚴(yán)重沖擊亞太地區(qū)和平安寧與戰(zhàn)后國際秩序。
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.
“護身軍刀”系列軍演始于2005年，每兩年舉行一次。“護身軍刀2025”共有來自美、澳、日、韓、英、法等19國超過3.5萬人參加，演習(xí)區(qū)域首次延伸到澳大利亞領(lǐng)土之外的巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞，成為該系列軍演史上規(guī)模最大的一次。2015年，日本由“護身軍刀”軍演的觀察員國轉(zhuǎn)為正式參演國。10年來，日本自衛(wèi)隊6次參加“護身軍刀”。
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.
日本借助“護身軍刀”不斷提升自身進攻性軍事能力。從2015年首次參演起，日陸上自衛(wèi)隊派出兩棲作戰(zhàn)部隊參加登陸作戰(zhàn)演習(xí)，模擬所謂“奪島”行動，這已成為日本參加“護身軍刀”的常規(guī)課目。2019年起，海上自衛(wèi)隊多次派出準(zhǔn)航母“出云”、直升機驅(qū)逐艦“伊勢”等主力艦艇，同美、英、澳等國航母及準(zhǔn)航母共同參演，提升?？招袆又械膮f(xié)同作戰(zhàn)能力。2023年參演期間，日本首次在澳大利亞試射“12式”地對艦導(dǎo)彈和“03式”地對空導(dǎo)彈，利用澳大利亞領(lǐng)土突破國內(nèi)法律限制，完成了在日本本土無法進行的實彈試射。2025年，日本再次在參演期間試射上述兩型導(dǎo)彈，并首次參加太空作戰(zhàn)訓(xùn)練。日本常態(tài)化利用境外軍演提升自身進攻性軍事能力的意圖愈發(fā)明顯。
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.
近年來，日本在美日同盟基礎(chǔ)上，著力構(gòu)建“美日+”安全合作框架，試圖提升其在印太地區(qū)乃至全球范圍內(nèi)的影響力。2022年以來，日本接連同澳大利亞、英國、菲律賓等國簽署《互惠準(zhǔn)入?yún)f(xié)定》，構(gòu)建“準(zhǔn)同盟”關(guān)系。“護身軍刀2025”軍演期間，日本自衛(wèi)隊在澳軍支持下實施“12式”導(dǎo)彈試射，并為法軍的登陸作戰(zhàn)課目提供支援。以此為開端，日本將派遣約600名兩棲作戰(zhàn)部隊“水陸機動團”成員，參加美海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊在達爾文基地的年度部署演訓(xùn)，同澳軍一道就淺海作戰(zhàn)課目接受美海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊指導(dǎo)。此外，“護身軍刀2025”的參演國中，菲律賓、泰國、印尼、湯加、巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞均是日本“官方安全援助”機制的對象國，日本以維護防務(wù)合作為由，推動這些國家共同參演，妄圖加以拉攏。
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.
日本借軍演測試多款武器系統(tǒng)，不斷提升自身進攻性軍事能力，引發(fā)亞洲鄰國對日本軍國主義死灰復(fù)燃的高度警惕。今年是中國人民抗日戰(zhàn)爭暨世界反法西斯戰(zhàn)爭勝利80周年，日本尤其應(yīng)當(dāng)深刻反省歷史罪責(zé)，認(rèn)真汲取歷史教訓(xùn)，在軍事安全領(lǐng)域謹(jǐn)言慎行，摒棄冷戰(zhàn)思維，以實際行動維護地區(qū)安全穩(wěn)定，贏得亞洲鄰國和國際社會的信任。
(The author is an associate research fellow at the Department for American Studies, China Institute of International Studies.)
（作者系中國國際問題研究院美國所副研究員）
