Washington and Tokyo want to strengthen their military partnership, so they plan to soon announce the first steps to modernize the command of their armed forces in Japan. Thus, the White House plans to strengthen measures to contain China, Nromadske writes.
According to the Washington Post, the deepening of the strategic alliance comes at a time when both allies are increasingly concerned about the threats facing Europe and Asia, with China and North Korea contributing to Russia’s war against Ukraine. They also fear that Moscow’s defiance of the West could push Beijing to invade Taiwan.
Therefore, Japan plans to create a joint operational command by March 2025 to better coordinate its sailors, pilots, infantry, and marines.
To align with Japan’s new command, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will announce the modernization of the current US Army headquarters in Japan, which is mainly an administrative office, to a general purpose or Joint Force headquarters.
This is really [of] historic significance as it relates to the alliance and our military ties with Japan, – said an unnamed senior military official.
The deepening of defense relations is part of the Joe Biden administration’s India-Pacific strategy, which seeks to counterbalance rising Chinese aggression by strengthening relations with like-minded countries.
During their visit to Tokyo, Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will discuss the agreements to increase joint weapons production and expand defense industrial cooperation reached between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Biden back in April.
According to the publication, representatives of the United States and Japan will discuss the joint production of missiles for the Patriot system, which Ukraine needs. Future joint projects may also include the production of medium-range air-to-air missiles.
WP sources explained that Japan does not export lethal weapons to countries at war. However, the country can sell weapons to the United States manufactured under an American license. And Washington, in turn, can transfer such weapons to its allies.
In addition, Tokyo will also host a trilateral meeting of the defense ministers of the United States, Japan, and South Korea. They will sign a new framework for cooperation that establishes annual trilateral Freedom Edge exercises, as well as real-time missile threat warnings among the three partners.
