The United States military has this month orchestrated a series of far-flung exercises across the Pacific, from a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test in California to rocket drills near Mount Fuji and large-scale counter-invasion wargames in the Philippines. The coordinated demonstrations of firepower underscore Washington’s effort to project a layered deterrent—strategic nuclear, intermediate-range, and tactical—against an increasingly assertive China.

In Japan, US Marines fired a dozen rockets from High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) at the foot of Mount Fuji, practising “shoot-and-scoot” tactics designed to evade drone surveillance. These tactics have gained urgency as aerial drones render static positions vulnerable. The same systems will be joined later this year by Typhon launchers, capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles with a 1,600km range, during the Valiant Shield and Orient Shield exercises. According to Japanese sources, the launchers will then be stored at a US base in Japan, marking a permanent forward-deployment of ground-based medium-range strike capability for the first time.

Meanwhile, Balikatan 2026—the largest annual US-Philippine exercise—involved over 17,000 troops rehearsing the defence of an allied nation from invasion. Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of US Indo-Pacific Command, described it as a “full-scale multinational mission rehearsal” in a dangerous security environment. The drills included strikes on a decommissioned Philippine vessel, simulating anti-ship and counter-landing operations. Viewed from Beijing, these exercises—stretching from the California coast to the East China Sea—represent a deliberate encirclement.

The Minuteman III test, conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base, was described by the Air Force as planned years in advance and unrelated to current events. Yet its timing, amid a flurry of conventional drills, reinforces the nuclear dimension of US deterrence. Analysts in Washington note that the integration of systems like the Typhon into Japan signals a shift in alliance dynamics, as such deployments were previously avoided due to political sensitivity. The cumulative message is one of readiness for a multi-domain conflict, with the US and its allies rehearsing both nuclear and conventional responses to potential aggression.