Japan guarded U.S., Australian military assets 22 times in 2021

Japan's Self-Defense Forces guarded U.S. and Australian military assets a total of 22 times last year in protection missions under security legislation that took effect in 2016, according to the Defense Ministry.The SDF guarded Australian assets for the first time in a protection mission during a joint drill in November following bilateral security talks last year amid China's rising assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.The 21 other cases involved the guarding of U.S. military assets, down from 25 cases in 2020. The United States was previously the only country covered by SDF protection…READ FULL ARTICLE