Japan defense chief warns vs ‘dangerous miscalculations’
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called for unity among Southeast Asian nations Wednesday as a rapid shift in the regional military balance is raising the risk of “dangerous miscalculations,” in an apparent reference to China’s naval activities in the South China Sea.
Given the rising risk of “coercion against vulnerable countries,” along with natural disasters and conflicts around the world, the security environment surrounding Asean is “deteriorating rapidly,” Koizumi said in a speech delivered at a meeting between defense chiefs of Japan and the 11 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu, the Philippines.
While stressing the need to overcome differences among the members to meet such challenges, he proposed cooperation between Japan, Asean and partners outside the grouping in new fields such as artificial intelligence technology, unmanned systems and protection of critical undersea infrastructures.
Earlier in the day, Koizumi agreed with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth on the importance of increased defense investment and continued strategic alignment to strengthen the deterrence of the bilateral security alliance amid increasing military activity by China.
The ministers agreed on efforts to “implement an effective denial defense in the First Island Chain,” an area east of China’s coast that includes Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, according to the US Defense Department. (See related story)
Koizumi briefed Hegseth on ongoing work to update Japan’s security strategy by the end of the year.
Dialogue partners
The two defense chiefs also confirmed that talks will continue on preventive measures following the arrest of a US Marine earlier this month on suspicion of robbing and murdering a woman in Okinawa Prefecture.
In his first talks with South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin Chul, who took office in September, Koizumi agreed on close trilateral cooperation involving the United States in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear development, Japan’s Defense Ministry said.
Welcoming the close high-level communication between the defense authorities of Japan and South Korea since the beginning of this year, the ministers agreed to maintain the momentum and further advance bilateral defense cooperation, it said.
