The United States and Japan said they will revamp the US military command structure in Japan to improve joint military operations and expand co-production of air defence missiles, to counter China’s increasing assertiveness and the North Korean nuclear threat.
The revamp is one of the main results of the “2+2” security talks attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara.
In a joint statement issued after the talks on Sunday, the two countries said the US “intends to reconstitute US Forces Japan (USFJ) as a joint force headquarters reporting to the Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command”, to facilitate interoperability and cooperation on joint operations “in peacetime and during contingencies”.
The reconstituted USFJ is intended to serve as an important counterpart to the Japanese Self-Defence Forces’ joint operation headquarters, which will be launched by March to unify the command of Japan’s ground, maritime and air services, it said.
But the new joint command will be headed by a three-star general, not a four-star general as Japan had requested, according to a Reuters report quoting US official sources.
Japan hosts more than 50,000 US troops who follow the command of the Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. The plan to upgrade USFJ’s command and control capability is intended to smooth joint exercises and operations, officials say.
The ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating Japan’s acquisition of Tomahawk missiles and improving cooperation on stand-off missile procurements, including Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range (JASSM-ER). These are regarded as critical to Japan’s deterrence capabilities.
The statement clearly took aim at China, as the two countries said Beijing “seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others” and expressed “serious concern” over its behaviour.
The statement also accused China of using political, economic, and military coercion against other countries. It added that China’s behaviour “represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond”.
In addition, it said Taiwan’s political transition “should not be used as a pretext for provocative actions” – a veiled reference to People’s Liberation Army drills surrounding the self-ruled island that took place after Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te was inaugurated in May.
The statement came just three days after PLA spokesman Zhang Xiaogang warned Beijing would take action on Taiwan if its “red line” is crossed.
On Thursday, Zhang said that the PLA would have to “take resolute measures” if the “separatist forces of Taiwan independence continue to provoke or even cross the red line”.
Zhang also voiced Beijing’s “strong opposition” to Japan’s recent joint maritime drill with Taiwan. He urged Japan to “correct its mistakes immediately” and not condone or support “Taiwan separatist forces”.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China, to be reunited by force if necessary. Like most countries, the United States does not recognise Taiwan as independent but opposes any attempt to take the island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
For the first time, the US-Japan ministerial talks also covered “extended deterrence”, a term used to describe Washington’s commitment to use nuclear forces to deter attacks on allies. This is a sensitive subject in Japan, the only country to have been attacked with atomic bombs, and Tokyo has pushed for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Ahead of the 2+2 talks, Kihara met Austin and South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik for their first trilateral defence talks hosted by Tokyo, where the three sides signed a memorandum.
During the meeting, the defence chiefs shared their assessments of recent maritime and air military activities in the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea, according to a Pentagon statement.
The statement said the defence ministers “reaffirmed that they strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, and they shared concerns about actions that are inconsistent with international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)”.
The US, Japan and South Korea military chiefs also expressed “grave concern” over the increasing military and economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea.
They condemned North Korea’s recent diversification of nuclear delivery systems, tests and launches of multiple ballistic missiles, and urged Pyongyang to “immediately cease such actions”.
They also formalised a trilateral agreement that would “institutionalise” trilateral security cooperation among their countries’ defence authorities.
After leaving Tokyo, Blinken and Austin will hold security talks with another Asian ally, the Philippines, as the Biden administration seeks to counter an increasingly assertive China in the South China Sea.
Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Laos on Saturday. According to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang criticised Washington’s attempts to contain China, saying it had shown no signs of abating despite increased bilateral exchanges in diplomacy, finance, military, law enforcement and climate change over the past three months.
Blinken reiterated that Washington and its partners wanted to maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, according to a US statement.
