This year's edition of bilateral command-post Exercise Keen Edge utilizes unaltered maps of China, in a break with tradition that had the allies use maps with altered topography to avoid backlash in the event the plans were leaked, government sources told the news agency.
The exercise is being held from February 1-8 and will be followed up by live-action Exercise Keen Sword around 2025, which will reportedly factor in the results of the computer-simulated command-post drills to verify their efficacy.
Yoshihide Yoshida, chief of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff, told reporters last week that Exercise Keen Edge did not envision a particular country or region.
The war games come amid rising tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan, which Beijing states as its territory. William Burns, chief of the US Central Intelligence Agency, claimed last year that Chinese President Xi Jinping had allegedly instructed the Chinese military to be ready to "invade" the island by 2027.