US to strengthen Japan force amid perceived threat from China
The United States has announced plans to bolster its military command in Japan to counter the perceived threat posed by China.
On Sunday, the US announced its plans to overhaul its military command in Japan to bolster what it called Washington-Tokyo defense cooperation to counter any strategic threat coming from China.
“The United States will upgrade the US Forces Japan to a joint force headquarters with expanded missions and operational responsibilities,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters on Sunday after the so-called “2+2” talks.
“This will be the most significant change to US Forces Japan since its creation and one of the strongest improvements in our military ties with Japan in 70 years.”
There are about 54,000 US military personnel in Japan who currently report back to the Indo-Pacific Command based in Hawaii (INDOPACOM). The planned military upgrade will reportedly give the US military forces in Japan greater capabilities while they still report to INDOPACOM.
The announcement of a "joint force headquarters" came after close two two talks in Tokyo between visiting US Secretaries of State Antony Blinken and Defense Lloyd Austin and their Japanese hosts, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Japan's Defense Minister Minoru Kihara.
The US-Japan announcement came after South Korea and the US authorized a guideline on establishing what they called an integrated system of extended deterrence for the Korean Peninsula.
Washington and Seoul claim their cooperation will counter nuclear and military threats from North Korea, the closest ally to China.
Washington and Tokyo claim they've shared concerns about what they see as “an evolving security environment” amid China's growing economic, military and diplomatic clout in the region and beyond.
The American and Japanese ministers said in the joint statement after the talks that China’s foreign policy “seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others” and that “such behavior is a serious concern to the alliance and the entire international community and represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond”.
The ministers’ joint statement targeted China and Russia for conducting joint military exercises and their rapid expansion of ties.
China, Russia, and North Korea have also voiced their concern about US efforts to militarize the Asia-Pacific through an expanding web of military agreements with pro-Western countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
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