Members of Taiwan’s 564th Armored Brigade present their flag after demonstrating their ability to repel an airborne attack near Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Jan. 11, 2023. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

TOKYO — A three-nation command-post exercise underway this week in Japan and Hawaii is not practice for a potential war with China, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

The Kyodo News agency reported Sunday that Beijing was identified as the hypothetical opponent of this year’s Keen Edge exercise involving U.S., Japanese and Australian military personnel.

The report, which cited anonymous government sources, said the training, which began Feb. 1 and wraps Thursday, includes a computer simulation of an emergency on Taiwan.

However, a spokesman for Japan’s Joint Staff told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday that Keen Edge “does not suppose any specific area or country.”

Many Japanese spokespeople speak to media on condition of anonymity as a requirement of their positions.

Identifying an enemy wouldn’t change the mechanics of Keen Edge, according to Brad Glosserman, deputy director and visiting professor at the Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Tokyo.

“It doesn’t matter what the enemy is called when the exercise is built,” he said by email Monday.

Historically, Japan has been unwilling to be straightforward about who it considered a potential adversary, Glosserman added.

Grant Newsham, a retired Marine colonel and senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo, said Friday that Keen Edge is “almost by definition” directed at Beijing.

“China is the only plausible answer and has been for at least a decade,” he said. “And that, by definition, means you’re also getting ready to fight over Taiwan — since it will be China that is causing the trouble for Taiwan.”