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Topic: Naval Warfare Blog Brand: The Buzz Region: Asia Tags: Indo-Pacific, Japan, Naval Mines, United States, and US Navy US and Japan Expand Mine Warfare Readiness in Indo-Pacific December 12, 2025 By: Stavros Atlamazoglou
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The US Navy drilled on mine warfare with its Japanese counterpart, while Russia and China held joint military drills across the East China Sea and Western Pacific.
US Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force warships recently wrapped up a major mine warfare exercise.
Unseen and often a nuisance, mines play an important role in naval warfare.
Mine Warfare in the Indo-Pacific
Over 15 days in November and December, the Navy’s 7th Fleet deployed significant mine warfare units in Japan to work with the Japanese Navy as part of MINEX 3JA.
This was the third version of MINEX this year and put the US and Japanese units through several mission sets, such as clearing waterways, mine hunting, detection, and neutralization.
The Navy deployed several units for the drill, including warships, air assets, and personnel from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5, Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15, and U.S. Marine Corps Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization.
“Strong alliances are critical in today’s world, perhaps more so now than they have ever been. MINEX 3JA provides an invaluable opportunity to work and learn alongside our JMSDF partners, enhancing our mine countermeasure capabilities and developing innovative solutions in this critical warfare area,” Navy capt. Peter W. Haynes, the commodore of Mine Countermeasures Group 7, said in a service press release.
On its part, the Japanese Navy deployed one frigate, four ocean minesweepers, two minesweeper tenders, 11 coastal minesweepers, two mine countermeasures helicopters, and multiple embarked explosive ordnance disposal units.
“U.S. and JMSDF commitment to interoperability and combined training ensures we can respond effectively to mine threats in the Indo-Pacific, keeping our forces ready together,” Haynes added.
Around the same time, the Navy drilled on mine warfare with its Japanese counterpart, while Russia and China held joint military drills across the East China Sea and Western Pacific. Chinese and Russian strategic bombers joined together and conducted a show of force operation. In response, the US Air Force deployed nuclear-capable strategic bombers in the region.
A Brief History of Mine Warfare
Mine warfare first became a major part of naval combat during World War I.
Initially developed as a way to protect friendly ports, mines quickly became the weapon of choice for blockade operations and containment of enemy forces and trade.
The Imperial German Navy used mines to contain the Royal Navy’s powerful Grand Fleet, as well as sink as many merchant ships as possible, following Berlin’s blockade strategy. On the other hand, the Royal Navy used mines to limit the paths the German High Seas Fleet could take, as well as to contain the U-boat menace.
For example, during the final years of the war, the Allies tried to contain German submarines by laying a massive amount of mines. In total, the Allies laid more than 70,000 mines, with the US Navy laying 5,000 mines in its first mine warfare mission.
Mine warfare retained its importance during World War II but started to become less relevant during the Cold War with the development of missile technology and naval aviation.
Today, mine warfare retains an important role in naval operations. Although more than a century has passed since the end of World War I, mines today serve in a similar fashion: restricting an adversary’s freedom to operate on the naval battlefield, as well as helping to blockade an enemy fleet.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: DVIDS.
The post US and Japan Expand Mine Warfare Readiness in Indo-Pacific appeared first on The National Interest.
Источник: nationalinterest.org