MSDF ships flirted with 'collective defense' ban at RIMPAC 2010 shooting practice

Two Japanese destroyers joined U.S. and Australian warships in shelling and sinking an amphibious assault ship in July 2010 as part of a large multilateral naval exercise off Hawaii, it was learned Sunday.

Six vessels fired at the 19,000-ton USS New Orleans during a sinking exercise that was carried out as part of the broader biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) fleet exercise, one of the largest international maritime exercises in the Pacific.

Some legal experts said the exercise could have been construed as "collective defense," which is banned by the Constitution, because it involved the joint shelling of a common target.

Read more