By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
US, Japan To Readjust Troops as Regional Tensions Rise
The United States and Japan announced intentions to reorient US military forces deployed in Japan, part of attempts to deepen defense cooperation between the two nations amid growing security threats in Asia. That is according to a joint statement by officials from both countries issued recently; the imperative move would modernize their alliance amid rising concerns over China's assertive territorial claims and North Korea's weapons programs that show no signs of abating.
After a meeting in Tokyo, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin joined his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and their Japanese counterparts, Minoru Kihara and Yoko Kamikawa, to drive home the imperative need for this reorganization, citing China's "political, economic, and military coercion" as the "greatest strategic challenge" to the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
It is expected to provoke outrage in Beijing, but the plan would reconstitute the US forces in Japan as a joint force headquarters reporting to the Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command. The change would improve interoperability and cooperation in joint bilateral operations in both peacetime and contingency operations.
It was as early as April that US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to upgrade the defense framework at a summit. That reconfiguration was a big step in that direction; working groups, now led by US Indo Pacific Command, will nail down the details of implementation.
Currently, US Forces Japan comprises approximately 54,000 military personnel stationed in accordance with the mutual cooperation and security treaty in 1960. The realignment will provide a leadership role to USFJ in the planning and leading of US forces both in peacetime and crisis, which will work alongside Japanese forces.
Notably, the ongoing shift in Japan's defense posture, particularly in its plans to increase its defense spending to about 2% of its GDP by 2027 and to acquire counterstrike capabilities, gives it an increasingly central role in Washington's regional security strategy. Of paramount importance against rising regional tensions and closely related security concerns in Europe and Asia emanating from Russia's war in Ukraine.
According to the US-Japan Joint Statement, Beijing's actions condemned the latter on "intensifying attempts to unilaterally change the status quo" in the East China Sea. The statement engaged in "threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea," aside from its support for Russia's defense industry. Such acts have raised tensions, as China also continued to make prolonged appearances near Japanese controlled islands in the East China Sea and stake claims in the South China Sea.
It also denounced North Korea's ballistic missile tests and nuclear weapons programs, besides deepening Russia-North Korea cooperation, including Russia purchasing ballistic missiles from North Korea in order to use them against Ukraine.
The announcement follows a trilateral meeting between the United States, Japan, and South Korea's defense chiefs the first in 15 years reflecting a shift toward closer coordination among US regional allies. This three-way cooperation is supposed to be in regard to shared security threats, in particular, that of North Korea, which means to deepen relations between Seoul and Tokyo as historic animosities come to be set aside.
The three chiefs of defense agreed to cooperate more strongly with respect to the threats from North Korea and formalized the security cooperation in a trilateral agreement, including senior policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises, and security exchange cooperation.
This is in addition to the sweeping reorganization of US forces in Japan and a deepening of defense ties between the US, Japan, and South Korea, further underscoring how strategically cooperative efforts are in combating complex security challenges within the Asia Pacific.
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