The U.S. and Japan have carried out a joint military exercise simulating an attack on an enemy ship in the western Japanese island of Kyushu. 

According to the Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday, the U.S. Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force staged the simulated attack at the Oyanohara training site in Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday. 

It was the first time that U.S. and Japanese ground forces carried out a joint drill involving land-to-ship missiles in Japan, following a similar one in the U.S. last year. 

The U.S. high-mobility artillery rocket system was mobilized alongside Japan’s Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles. 

Asahi said the drill is intended to keep China in check as Chinese naval ships have been frequently passing the waters between Okinawa and Miyako Island.