May 15 – Japan, US, France hold military drill eyeing China presence

May 15 – Japan, US, France hold military drill eyeing China presence Dozens of Japanese, American and French troops landed amid pouring rain from a CH-47 transport helicopter onto a grassy field at a training area in southern Japan, part of Saturday’s joint scenario of defending a remote island from an enemy invasion. The three nations’ first joint drills on Japanese soil — dubbed “ARC21” and which began Tuesday — come as they seek step up military ties amid growing Chinese a*sertiveness in the region. Japanese soldiers and their counterparts from the French army and the U.S. Marine Corps also…