JS IZUMO, JS TAKANAMI and submarine conducted a multilateral exercise with USS HIGGINS, USNS BIGHORN, and HMCS WINNIPEG

From 23 September to 1 October, the Indo-Pacific Deployment 2022 (IPD22) units, JS IZUMO, JS TAKANAMI and submarine conducted a multilateral exercise with USS HIGGINS, USNS BIGHORN, and HMCS WINNIPEG in the South China Sea.
The Commander of Escort Flotilla 4, RADM HIRATA Toshiyuki said, “In this multilateral exercise, we improved our tactical capabilities and strengthened cooperation between the JMSDF, the U.S. Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy by conducting more practical multilateral exercises. The Indo-Pacific region in which we acted is at the core of the world vitality, and home to half the world's population. It is important to establish this region as the free and open global commons to ensure the peace and prosperity of the entire region. Through this dispatch, we were able to embody Japan's strong will not to allow unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, and demonstrate Japan's strong determination to ensure the safety of maritime traffic in the region and thereby contribute to the prosperity of the international community.”
The Self-Defense Fleet has been working together with the U.S. Navy from day to day to maintain and strengthen its ability to bilaterally respond to various contingencies, and to work closely with allied and friendly navies toward the realization of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific." It also upholds a law-based maritime order, addresses global challenges, and contributes to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.