Foreign and defense ministers from Japan and the U.S. on Sunday announced a far-reaching update to their alliance in response to what they described as a “profound level of global threats” to peace and security.
At the so-called two-plus-two meeting in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and their American counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin agreed to establish a new U.S. joint force headquarters to assume “primary responsibility for coordinating security activities in and around Japan.”
The headquarters will be at the center of efforts to “facilitate deeper interoperability and cooperation” between U.S. and Japanese defense forces in the Indo-Pacific, the ministers said in a statement. They vowed to bolster both nations’ “deterrence” capabilities and expand intelligence sharing and cybersecurity measures.
In their talks, the ministers highlighted security challenges such as China’s activity in the South and East China seas, North Korea’s missile development and both countries’ increasing cooperation with Russia. They also mentioned Russia’s “unjustifiable” invasion of Ukraine.
“We are standing at a historic turning point, a critical juncture where today’s decisions will determine our future,” Kamikawa said at a joint news conference.
In their statement, the ministers acknowledged “the profound level of global threats to our alliance’s shared vision and common values,” affirming their countries’ resolve to stand together, which included a renewed U.S. vow to defend Japan by every means at its disposal.
“Given the increasingly severe security environment caused by recent moves of regional actors,” the U.S. reiterated its “unwavering commitment” to the defense of Japan, “using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear.”
Key to the bolstered alliance will be a “reconstituted” U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ), a joint air, ground and naval headquarters that will report to the Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, based in Hawaii. It is “intended to serve as an important JJOC counterpart,” the ministers said.
The JJOC refers to the Japan Joint Operations Command, a new headquarters overseeing the Self-Defense Forces’ air, ground and maritime units and set to be established by 2025.
The upgrading of USFJ “will be the most significant change to U.S. Forces Japan since its creation, and one of the strongest improvements in our military ties with Japan in 70 years,” Austin told the news conference.
The existing USFJ, established in 1957, is based at the U.S. Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo. Coordination between the U.S. military and the SDF has been handled from Hawaii, but will be led by the USFJ under the new system, which will be implemented through a “phased approach,” according to the joint statement.
The new USFJ will collaborate with the SDF “from peacetime through contingencies.”
Blinken said the ministers had “delivered on commitments” made by U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida to revise the command-and-control framework governing their regional defense operations, made in Washington in April.
“In this moment, the alliance is stronger than it’s ever been,” Blinken said, “and I know it will be sustained irrespective of the outcome of elections in either of our countries.”
Sunday’s dialogue was held against a backdrop of heightening tensions in the South China Sea, where there have been several clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in recent months.
The Japan and U.S. ministers expressed “strong objections” to China’s “threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea” in their statement. They also condemned China’s “intensifying attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea,” and opposed Russia’s military cooperation with Beijing.
China’s foreign policy, the ministers said, “represents the greatest strategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
The ministers reiterated their goal to “increase bilateral presence” in Japan’s Southwest Islands, the westernmost of which is located just 110 kilometers from Taiwan. They warned against “provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait.”
They also reaffirmed the need for multilateral coordination to maintain security in the Indo-Pacific, telling reporters they were looking forward to the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting with Australia and India, scheduled for Monday in Tokyo.
On South China Sea issues, the ministers welcomed further cooperation with the Philippines. The U.S., Japan and the Philippines held their first trilateral summit in April, where leaders promised to collaborate closely on Indo-Pacific defense and security.
Regarding North Korea’s “continued conduct of reckless ballistic missile launches,” and its growing strategic relationship with Russia, the ministers called for deeper collaboration with South Korea.
Sunday’s statement also unveiled a “high-priority” plan to strengthen Japan-U.S. defense industrial cooperation, increasing the production of Patriot PAC-3 surface-to-air and Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air missiles in Japan. Both weapons, developed in the U.S., can be used to intercept ballistic missiles.
After their two-plus-two session, the U.S. and Japan held their first ministerial-level meeting on “extended deterrence,” a term referring to the U.S.’s promise to use nuclear weapons to defend allies in a potential attack. The meeting, according to a separate statement, was aimed at reinforcing bilateral cooperation on “arms control, risk reduction, and nonproliferation,” in the face of rising nuclear threats from North Korea, China and Russia.
The Tokyo-Washington dialogues followed a three-way meeting of defense ministers from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. on Sunday morning, where the nations signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance military collaboration in East Asia. Collaboration will include real-time intelligence sharing on North Korean missile launches, regular ministerial meetings on defense, and the continuation of joint military training.
The MOU institutionalizes the details of a “new era of trilateral partnership,” announced by Kishida, Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during a meeting at Camp David, U.S., last August. “With the signing of this memorandum, our trilateral cooperation has become stronger and unshakable,” Kihara, Japan’s defense chief, told reporters earlier on Sunday.
