Japan, US say conduct joint missile shield test

TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) Japan and the United States have carried out the latest in a series of joint missile defence exercises, the US Navy said, in face of strong Chinese opposition to creation of a regional missile shield.

The two sides succeeded in quickly passing on crucial data of an incoming ballistic missile, the Navy's 7th Fleet said on its Web site.

Tokyo and Washington have speeded up plans to introduce a missile shield in Japan in response to North Korea's arsenal of ballistic missiles, and prompt information sharing is vital given that North Korean missiles can reach Japan within 10 minutes.

While Japan insists that missile defence is purely for its own protection, China has voiced displeasure fearing that the shield would hinder its military capabilities, especially against Taiwan, which it considers to be a rebel province.

According to the Web site, last Friday's test was the fifth joint exercise since September, and involved three US and one Japanese vessel, all equipped with high-tech Aegis weapons system, which allows for tracking multiple incoming targets.

''The timeline for us to determine the path missiles travel in is very short. You need to be able to share information quickly so the leaders can make decisions in a timely manner,'' Lieutenant-Commander Michael Weatherford was quoted as saying.

Weatherford, the 7th Fleet's ballistic missile defence operations officer, said that it took about a minute for information on a missile's trajectory to reach Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's office in Friday's exercise.

While Japanese Defence Ministry officials confirmed Friday's test, they were asking the US side how the information came to be posted on the Web site, Kyodo news agency said.

REUTERS PY PM2027