Wary of China, US upgrades military command in Japan
TOKYO—The United States said on Sunday it would revamp its military command in Japan to deepen coordination with its ally’s forces, as the two countries labeled China the “greatest strategic challenge” facing the region.
The announcement followed security talks in Tokyo between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III and their respective Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara.
The new “joint force headquarters” will facilitate deeper interoperability with Japan’s armed forces and aims to be implemented in parallel with Tokyo’s own plans to establish a joint command to oversee its forces by March, according to a statement issued after the “2+2” talks.
The upgrade to the US command in Japan is “one of the most significant developments in the history of our alliance,” Austin told reporters before the talks began.
The overhaul is among several measures taken to address what the countries said was an “evolving security environment,” noting various threats from superpower China.
Chinese ‘coercive behavior’
“We continue to see the PRC (People’s Republic of China) engaging in coercive behavior and trying to change the status quo in the East and South China Sea, around Taiwan and throughout the region,” Austin said.
The statement criticized what it called Beijing’s “provocative” maritime actions, joint military exercises with Russia and the rapid expansion of its nuclear weapons arsenal.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.Beijing’s “foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others,” the ministers said in their statement.
“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.”
For the first time, the ministers also discussed “extended deterrence,” a term used to describe the US commitment to use its nuclear forces to deter attacks on allies.
Sensitive subject
It is sensitive subject in Japan, which has pushed for nonproliferation of nuclear weapons and is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks.
The countries discussed reinforcing extended deterrence to promote regional stability and deter the outbreak of conflict, according to an official readout that was scant on detail.
“We are at a critical juncture. In order to thoroughly defend the existing international order, we need to continuously strengthen our alliance and enhance the deterrence—the power,” Japan’s Kamikawa told reporters at the outset of the talks.
Japan provides a base for the US to project military power in Asia, hosting 54,000 American troops, hundreds of US aircraft and Washington’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier strike group.
Prompted by China’s growing military might and regular missile tests by nuclear-armed North Korea, Japan has in recent years shifted dramatically from decades of postwar pacifism. In 2022 it unveiled a plan to double defense spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product.
