Japanese troops simulate islands assault

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)

Japanese airborne troops held military exercises on Sunday (January 13) as a territorial dispute with China simmers over islets called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

The exercise, an annual event opened to media and civilian audience, received more attention this year for the first time as it included a drill to reclaim remote islands.

A P-3C Orion maritime patrol plane, which has been on surveillance operations over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, was flown to the exercise zone, on the outskirts of Tokyo, to lead transport planes from which 80 airborne troops jumped at an altitude of 300-metres (984 feet).

Some of the paratroops wore life vests as they were practising landing on a remote island, TV Tokyo reported.

The disputed group of islands, located near potentially huge oil and gas reserves in the East China Sea, have been at the heart of a tense dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.