The United States and Japan have unveiled plans to strengthen security cooperation to counter threats from North Korea and China, described as the region’s biggest security challenge.
In unusually strong language, the US and Japanese foreign and defense ministers denounced China’s growing aggressiveness in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere. They also called on Russia to go to war with Ukraine and criticized North Korea for ramping up its nuclear and missile programs.
In a joint statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts Yoshimasa Hayashi and Yasukazu Hamada said China posed an “unprecedented” threat to the international order and vowed to redouble their efforts to counter it.
“China’s foreign policy is aimed at changing the international order in its favor and using China’s growing political, economic, military and technological power to this end,” the statement said. “This behavior is of great concern to the alliance and the entire international community and represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
The four men agreed to adjust the presence of US troops on the island of Okinawa in part to boost the anti-ship capabilities that would be needed in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or other hostilities in the South or East China Seas.
They also added an official mention of outer space to the long-standing US-Japan security treaty, explaining that “attacks into, from and within space” could trigger provisions in the mutual defense treaty. Previously, this was not part of the agreement. In addition, the US space agency NASA plans to sign a cooperation agreement with Japan on Friday.
Before the meeting, Japan’s defense ministry said it was ready to begin construction on a desert island where the two armies would hold joint military exercises starting in 2027.
Blinken said the agreement, signed on Wednesday, reflects the two countries’ efforts to deepen cooperation “in all areas”, including space, cybersecurity and new technologies.
He said that the US-Japanese alliance “is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, ensuring the security, freedom and prosperity of our people and people throughout the region.”
Wednesday’s discussions will be followed by a Friday meeting between President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, where they will highlight the importance of the relationship.
Kishida, who is on a week-long trip to visit allies in Europe and North America, on Wednesday signed a defense deal with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that strengthens military ties between their two districts, including in response to Chinese moves.
Austin said Wednesday’s agreement reaffirms “America’s ironclad commitment to defending Japan through a full range of capabilities, including nuclear,” and emphasizes that Article 5 of the mutual security treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands. Beijing also claims the disputed islands outside Japanese territorial waters.
New runways
Earlier Wednesday, Japan said it would begin construction on a pair of airstrips on the small southern island of Mageshima, where joint exercises would begin about four years later, including F-35B stealth fighter drills, amphibious operations and missile interception.
The island, located off the southwestern coast of Kagoshima on the southernmost main island of Kyushu, will become a hub for stationing troops and supplying ammunition in the event of a conflict, such as the emergency in Taiwan.
Japan and the United States are moving one of their key flight training grounds to the southern island, which is much closer to the U.S. Iwakuni Air Force Base, where the F-35B fleet is based, than the current training ground on Iwo Jima, where one of the bloodiest and most iconic battles of World War II took place. war.
Changes to the US deployment on Okinawa will transform the 12th Marines into a smaller and faster mobile unit, the 12th Coastal Marines, which will be better equipped to fight the enemy and protect the US and its allies in close combat. region.
Austin said the regiment would bring “immense” capabilities to the region as a “more deadly, more agile, more combat-ready” military unit.
US officials said the decision would not increase the number of Marines on the island, nor would it result in any significant change in weapons capabilities.
Strengthening military capabilities or troops is a sensitive issue for Okinawa, the site of one of the bloodiest ground battles at the end of World War II. More than half of the American troops based in Japan are stationed on the island, and the Okinawans want that number to be reduced.
The Coastal Regiment is composed of approximately 2,000 Marines and includes an anti-ship missile battery battle group, a logistics battalion, and an air defense battalion. The current Marine Regiment on Okinawa, which it will essentially replace, includes about 3,400 Marines and sailors.
Wednesday’s agreements follow Japan’s announcement last year that it would increase its defense spending to 2% of gross domestic product within five years. That would make its defense budget the third-largest in the world — a dramatic shift in Tokyo’s priorities, reflecting growing concerns about North Korea and potential Chinese military action against Taiwan.
“Japan is gaining momentum and doing so in step with the United States, partners in the Indo-Pacific and Europe,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, adding that Biden’s engagement with allies is “paying huge dividends” on global security.
While fear of a Taiwan emergency is growing, many in the region are concerned that a defense build-up by both China and the US and its allies could increase the risk of being drawn into a war.
In talks Friday, Biden is expected to take up with Kishida the case of Lieutenant Ridge Alconis, a U.S. Navy officer stationed in Japan who was imprisoned after pleading guilty last year to the negligent deaths of two Japanese citizens in May 2021. of the year. according to a senior administration official.
The official, who asked not to be named when discussing negotiations with the Japanese, said the administration is working to “find a compassionate solution consistent with the rule of law.”
