This page covers publicly reported military deployments in Japan, the Korean Peninsula, China, Taiwan and the surrounding seas. It lists foreign forces sent to the region, force movements within it and major exercises, each with its deploying country, status, date and sources.
🪖 Ground 🚢 Naval and carriers ✈️ Air 🎯 Missile 🛡️ Air defense ⚓ Base 🏳️ Joint or international
Points mark the country or sea area named in public reporting, not exact positions. Many records have no map point.
| Deploying | Host or area | Branch | Forces and personnel | Status | Date | Verified | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Japan | Japan | 🏳️ Joint or multiple branches | Malabar 2026 military exercise Not disclosed | Confirmed active | Nov 5, 2026 | Nov 5, 2026 | Kyodo News USNI News |
| Japan | Miyako Strait | 🚢 Naval forces | Japan: Japan Joint Staff surveillance of Chinese ships Not disclosed | Confirmed active | Nov 2, 2026 | Nov 2, 2026 | Japan Joint Staff Defense News |
 United States | Japan | 🚢 Naval forces | United States: Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan 3 ships (USS Makin Island, USS Anchorage, USS John P. Murtha) plus embarked MEU Official announcement | Confirmed active | Oct 26, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 | U.S. Navy via DVIDS (dvidshub.net) |
| United States |  South Korea | 🏳️ Joint or multiple branches | Freedom Flag 26-2 military exercise Not disclosed | Confirmed active | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 | Pacific Air Forces (pacaf.af.mil) |
| South Korea | Japan | 🪖 Ground forces | South Korea: Observers at Keen Sword 27 Not disclosed | Confirmed active | Oct 19, 2026 | Oct 19, 2026 | Stars and Stripes |
| Japan | Japan | 🚢 Naval forces | Japan: About 45,000 SDF personnel, 6,100 vehicles, 40 vessels and 260 aircraft (Keen … Not disclosed | Confirmed active | Oct 19, 2026 | Oct 19, 2026 | Stars and Stripes |
| United States | Japan | 🏳️ Joint or multiple branches | Keen Sword 2027 military exercise Not disclosed | Historical | Oct 19, 2026 | Oct 19, 2026 | U.S. Pacific Command (pacom.mil) Kyodo News via Okinawa Times |
| United States | South Korea | 🪖 Ground forces | United States: 3rd Cavalry Regiment (“Brave Rifles”), 18th Korea Rotational Force to Camp Hovey, South Korea Not stated | Confirmed active | Oct 16, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 | U.S. Pacific Command (pacom.mil) |
 China |  Taiwan | 🚢 Naval forces | China: Aircraft and naval ships around Taiwan to Around Taiwan 15 aircraft, 10 naval ships and 7 official ships in 12 hours Confirmed figure | Confirmed active | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 15, 2026 | Taipei Times Focus Taiwan (CNA) |
| Mongolia, with India and partners |  Mongolia | 🪖 Ground forces | Khaan Quest 2026 military exercise Not disclosed | Historical | Jun 20, 2026 | Jun 18, 2026 | The Week: Indian Army to return to Mongolia for Khaan Quest (June 18, 2026) |
| United States | Japan | ✈️ Air force | F-35A fighters permanently based at Misawa, Japan Not disclosed | Confirmed active | Mar 28, 2026 | Mar 28, 2026 | DVIDS: F-35A Lightning IIs arrive at Misawa Air Base (Mar. 28, 2026) |
| United States | South Korea | 🏳️ Joint or multiple branches | U.S. troops in South Korea 23,495 Official announcement | Confirmed active | — | Nov 5, 2026 | DMDC via AP (LiveNOW from FOX) |
| United States | Japan | 🏳️ Joint or multiple branches | U.S. troops in Japan 54,000+ Official announcement | Confirmed active | — | Nov 5, 2026 | DMDC via AP (LiveNOW from FOX) |
Other regions
North America military deployments9 recordsSouth America military deployments2 recordsEurope military deployments10 recordsEastern Europe military deployments11 recordsMiddle East military deployments24 recordsNorth Africa military deployments2 recordsSub-Saharan Africa military deployments17 recordsEast Asia military deployments13 recordsSoutheast Asia military deployments5 recordsSouth Asia military deployments1 recordCentral Asia military deployments2 recordsIndo-Pacific military deployments8 recordsArctic military deployments3 records
Latest military deployment news
Public information only, linked to its source. Estimates and claims are labeled, and locations are given at country or sea-area level. See the full deployments directory or the Military Deployments Tracker.