Amphibious military capabilities are on the agenda as the US Marine Corps and Navy host defense leaders from around the Pacific in Hawaii this week. Japan’s forces are in between: It has been training soldiers in amphibious warfare during the past few years as it seeks to be able to defend small islands to its south in the East China Sea. Japan controls the rocky islets it calls Senkaku, but Beijing also claims them. China calls the islands Diaoyu. Territorial disputes like this and another over a different set of small islands in the South China Sea are one factor prompting growing interest in amphibious training, said Tim Huxley, the executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies-Asia.

Military leaders in Hawaii to discuss amphibious skills. (2015, May 20). The Philippine Star, p. 6.