According to a report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on December 3, more than 30 countries and regions including NATO member states including the United States participated in the exercise code-named "Network Alliance 2019". The exercise took place at a control centre in Estonia, from 2 to 6 this month.
About 20 people from the Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Force participated in the online performance at the Ministry of Defense located in the city of Tokyo, mainly including the heads of the Department of Integrated Staff Supervision, the "Network Defense Force" and other departments. Participants log in as a special program for this exercise, and work with other countries to complete tasks such as information sharing and decision-making.
It is reported that under the background of international disputes, cyber attacks and government website intrusions are changing rapidly. The exercise will test whether countries can adopt flexible response measures while cooperating with the changing situation. The exercise was not limited to the defense of cyber attacks, but also included a counterattack against an imaginary enemy.
From 2015 to 2018, Japan has been an observer country for the exercise. The Japanese media stated that because they are not officially participating countries, they cannot share confidential information.
The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Defense said: "Japan lacks experience in participating in cross-country joint performances in cyberspace, and there are still many problems that need to be overcome, such as lack of language. Focusing on future actual battles, participating in joint performances is of great significance.
The report said that there are opinions that compared with the US and Europe, the construction of the Internet defense system has lagged. Once Japan, which maintains cooperation with the United States and Europe in the security field, becomes an attack target, it may cause losses to the United States and Europe that have exchanges of defense information with Japan.
Based on the Japan-US Security Treaty, the Japanese and American governments confirmed in April this year that the United States' defense obligations against Japan also apply to cyberspace. It is reported that Japan has published a government opinion that Japan can "exercise its right to collective self-defense" when countries such as the United States and other countries closely related to Japan are subjected to any form of cyber attack.
"The Japanese participation in the exercise is expected to ensure smooth cooperation between the parties on how to respond when information is shared and when there is an incident," said Kazuo Nawa, a senior analyst at the Cyber Defense Institute.
The Japanese government has outlined three new battlefields in cyberspace, space and electromagnetic space in the 2018 edition of the Outline of Defense Plan. In addition to the newly established "System Protection Team" in the Ground Self-Defense Force, Japan has also expanded the scale of exercises with the United States, but the work to improve the defense system is still in its infancy.
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