TOKYO (AP) — Top defense officials and diplomats from Japan and the United States met in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss further strengthening military cooperation between the two countries, including strengthening command and control of U.S. forces and boosting U.S.-licensed missile production in Japan. The growing threat from China.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, along with Foreign Ministers Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, attended the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee (2+2) and reaffirmed the alliance. President Joe Biden He withdrew from the November presidential election.
“We are at a historical turning point, with the rules-based, free and open international order being shaken to its very core,” Kamikawa said. “Now is a critical juncture where the decisions we make today will determine our future.”
In his opening remarks, Austin said China was “attempting to change the status quo and engaging in coercive actions in the East China Sea, the South China Sea, around Taiwan and throughout the region,” adding that North Korea’s nuclear program and deepening cooperation with Russia “threaten regional and global security.”
Austin said the two ministers plan to discuss “historic efforts to modernize” the U.S.-Japan command and control system, including U.S. forces in Japan.
That will also include upgrading the U.S. command and control system in tandem with Japan’s ongoing efforts to establish a unified command center in March.
“This will be one of the most significant developments in the history of our alliance,” Austin said.
More than 50,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, but they are not commanded by the U.S. Forces Japan commander, who is based at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo and is in charge of managing the bases. Instead, command is vested in the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. The plan to improve U.S. military command and control is intended to make joint exercises and operations easier, officials say.
The ministers are also expected to discuss strengthening cooperation in intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cybersecurity, areas where Japan needs further improvement to jointly address future threats.
The two ministers, meeting separately for the first time, will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to “extended deterrence,” including nuclear weapons, a shift from previous reluctance by Japan, the only country in the world to have suffered a nuclear attack, to publicly discuss the sensitive issue amid growing nuclear threats from Russia and China.
Japan is accelerating its military buildup, increasing joint operations with the United States and South Korea while also focusing on strengthening its domestic defense industry.
Japan has significantly relaxed arms export controls Also in December, Russia responded to a U.S. request to ship Japanese-made PAC-3 surface-to-air missile interceptors under U.S. license to replenish U.S. stocks depleted as a result of its support for Ukraine.
The two ministers are expected to discuss increasing domestic production of PAC-3 interceptor missiles for export to the United States, as well as joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.
Japan and the United States are accelerating cooperation in the defense industry continue The agreement was reached in April between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Biden. The two countries have established working groups for joint production of missiles and for maintenance and repair of U.S. Navy ships and Air Force aircraft in the region.
Japan’s role is primarily aimed at helping the U.S. supply arms amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and maintaining the credibility of the U.S. deterrent in the Indo-Pacific region, but Japanese government officials say it will also help bolster Japan’s defense industry.
Ahead of the 2+2 talks, Kihara met with Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik at the first-ever trilateral defense talks hosted by Tokyo and signed a memorandum of understanding to institutionalize regular high-level consultations, joint exercises and other exchanges agreed upon in Singapore in June.
Defense officials said the memorandum serves as the basis for future defense cooperation among the three countries despite a possible change in leadership and demonstrates their unity.
“The signing of this memorandum will ensure unwavering cooperation among the three countries even in the midst of a changing global situation,” Kihara told reporters.
Kihara also met with Shin, the South Korean Defense Minister visiting Japan for the first time in 15 years, and the two agreed to take steps to deepen defense ties between the two countries.
