US to redeploy military forces in Japan as regional tensions rise

CNN
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America will rebuild its military forces Japan As the two countries move to deepen security cooperation, Washington and Tokyo on Sunday made a major move to modernize their alliance in the face of growing security threats in Asia.

The announcement comes as Japan and the United States watch warily as China grows increasingly aggressive in asserting its disputed territorial claims and North Korea continues its illicit weapons program.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts Minoru Kihara and Yoko Kamikawa announced the plan in a joint statement after a meeting in Tokyo, where they called China’s “political, economic and military coercion”. A major strategic challenge in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

The move could anger Beijing, which has been wary of the US strengthening ties with regional allies in a part of the world where China is seeking to become a dominant power, observers say. Cold War style block mentality.

Under the new plan, U.S. forces in Japan would be “restructured” into a joint force headquarters reporting to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander, “facilitating deeper interoperability and cooperation in joint bilateral operations in both peacetime and contingencies.” Report.

In April, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida He took the pledge during a summit in Washington To “enhance” respective command and control structures to “strengthen deterrence and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region while pressing regional security challenges”.

The details of the implementation will be worked out in task forces led by the US Indo-Pacific Command, a senior US defense official said ahead of Sunday’s announcement, adding that there is no intention to integrate Japanese forces into US commands.

United States Forces Japan (USFJ), headquartered at Yokota Air Base, consists of approximately 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan under the 1960 Mutual Cooperation and Defense Treaty.

“We consider this a historic announcement in the strong developments in our military-to-military relations over 70 years. “The bottom line is that this is a transformative change,” the official said.

“Once this transition is complete, the USFJ will have a direct leadership role in planning and directing U.S. forces in both peacetime and potential crises, and they will do so with Japanese forces as never before.”

The expected restructuring comes as Japan transitions Defense postureA move away from the pacifist constitution imposed by the US after World War II, with a plan to increase defense spending to 2% of its GDP by 2027 and acquire counter-offensive capabilities.

The changes have confirmed Japan’s centrality to Washington’s regional security strategy and its drive to increase coordination with allies and partners amid rising regional tensions — and as it entwines security in Europe and Asia in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

China was repeatedly mentioned in the joint statement, with ministers outlining shared concerns, including what they described as Beijing’s “intensification of efforts to unilaterally change the situation” in the East China Sea, its “threatening and provocative actions” in South China, and its “support base for Russia’s defense industry.” .”

China has been Aggressively pushing its claims in and maintaining the contested waters of the South China Sea Extended presence Beijing has claims in the East China Sea near Japanese-controlled islands. Western leaders have accused Beijing of “enabling” Moscow’s war in Ukraine Provision of dual use itemsAn accusation Beijing denies.

The ministers also said Taiwan’s “period of political transition should not be used as an excuse” for provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait. Chinese military training Beijing is circling the self-governing democracy days after Taiwan’s new president took office in May.

In the statement, they condemned North Korea’s missile tests and nuclear weapons programs Russia-North Korea deepens cooperationIncluding Russia’s “purchase of ballistic missiles and other items from North Korea” for use in Ukraine.

The meeting, the first in 15 years, follows a trilateral meeting between defense chiefs from the US, Japan and South Korea earlier on Sunday – and another sign of tighter coordination among regional US allies.

It came almost a year later Major Summit between the three nations hosted by Biden at Camp David. Growing trilateral integration between the US, Japan and South Korea marks a shift in regional relations, with Seoul and Tokyo — longtime US allies — widely seen as putting aside historic animosity and mistrust to better address shared security threats.

On Sunday, the three defense chiefs pledged to strengthen cooperation to counter North Korea’s “nuclear and missile threats” and formalized a trilateral agreement that reaffirms “the unwavering nature of a new era of trilateral cooperation,” according to a joint statement.

It will “institutionalize” trilateral security cooperation among their countries’ security authorities, including senior-level policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises and security exchange cooperation.