This is how military cooperation between the USA and Japan is strengthened
The US president and the prime minister of Japan have outlined a series of defense and security projects. All the details
It is the dawn of a "new era" of strategic security cooperation between the US and Japan.
This was announced yesterday by United States President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a joint summit at the White House. The Japanese Prime Minister's state visit is part of a broad diplomatic program. According to the Financial Times, it is a “historic summit designed to strengthen the strong US-Japan alliance as nations grow increasingly concerned about what they see as threats from China.”
Precisely to face the challenges posed by Beijing, Washington and Tokyo have announced a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening military and economic cooperation between the two countries. Together with Australia, they will develop a new air missile defense system.
Furthermore, the two sides stated that a planned upgrade of their military command and control frameworks would allow for greater interoperability and planning in peacetime and during conflicts.
All the details.
THE RENEWED PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN USA AND JAPAN
In a joint statement released on the sidelines of the Washington summit, Biden and Kishida said their goal is to build a global security partnership “fit for purpose” for complex and interconnected challenges.
“Our alliances are America's greatest asset,” President Biden told reporters, calling plans for greater interoperability between U.S. and Japanese forces “the most significant improvement to our alliance since it was established.”
The US president underlined the United States' unwavering commitment to defending Japan using the full range of its capabilities, including nuclear. Biden added that over the past three years the two countries have transformed their relationship into a “true global partnership” and that the alliance now serves as a “beacon for their entire world,” notes the Financial Times .
MILITARY COOPERATION STRENGTHENED
Among the seventy agreements signed by the two leaders in the Oval Office are the commitment to change the structure of US forces in Japan to better integrate with Japanese ones, the establishment of a "military industrial council" to evaluate where the two countries can co-produce weapons to improve cooperation, summarizes Ansa .
Speaking alongside the Japanese prime minister, Biden said the allies were taking significant steps to ensure their militaries can "work together continuously and effectively." They will also establish a working group for fighter pilot training, including artificial intelligence and advanced simulators, and the co-development and co-production of jet trainers.
A NEW COMMON MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM
Furthermore, the American president announced that the United States, Japan and Australia will create a joint air and missile defense system for the first time. “The Aukus platform is also evaluating how to include Japan in our work related to the advanced capabilities and autonomous systems pillar, including artificial intelligence,” Biden added.
A JOINT EXERCISE BETWEEN USA, UK AND JAPAN
And on another trilateral front, Washington and Tokyo will partner with London on a regular exercise in the Pacific starting in 2025, the three sides announced. It should not be forgotten that on the defense front, Japan is collaborating with the United Kingdom (and together with Italy) also in the Global Combat Air Program (Gcap), a project for the development of a sixth generation combat aircraft by 2035.
A FORUM ON INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION LAUNCHES
As part of the agreement, the two nations agreed to use a Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment (DICAS). The forum will identify priority areas where the two sides can work together. Capabilities identified in the statement include the “co-development and co-production of missiles and co-sustaining of U.S. Navy ships and U.S. Air Force aircraft, including fourth-generation fighters, at commercial Japanese facilities, in coordination with the competent authorities".
IN THE SIGN OF CONDEMNATION OF THE CHINESE POSTURE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC
The US-Japan alliance is entirely geared towards containing Beijing.
The joint statement released by Biden and Kishida contained strongly worded criticism of China, Bloomberg points out. The two leaders called China's actions in the South China Sea "dangerous and provocative" and opposed actions that "seek to undermine Japan's long-standing peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands," referring to the China Sea islands Eastern also claimed by China.
A JAPANESE WILL BE THE FIRST NON-AMERICAN CITIZEN TO LAND ON THE MOON
Finally, Biden and Kishida announced a shared goal of having a Japanese citizen be the first non-American to land on the Moon on an Artemis mission. NASA's Artemis program aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo era in 2026.
“The commitment marks Washington's latest move to use the space program to woo friendly nations and compete with China in a race to the Moon,” comments Bloomberg .
THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE JAPANESE PRESS
At the news conference, Kishida said the world faced a "historic turning point" and that leaders agreed to "continue to respond to challenges regarding China" and that they will "resolutely defend and strengthen" what he described as a free and open Indo-Pacific.
If Asia Nikkei headlined yesterday "Biden and Kishida strengthen ties to defend global order", for Japan Times the leaders "unveil a historic update of defense ties, seeking to strengthen Tokyo's role in countering China's growing assertiveness" .
The Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan's leading newspapers, highlights that “Biden praised Kishida's leadership and Japan's growing international clout.”
EXPERT COMMENTARY
And the experts seem to agree. Sheila Smith, a Japan expert and senior member of the Council on Foreign Relations, observed to the FT that a radical change has occurred in the way Japan addresses global issues. Now he “wants to make a difference”. “Tokyo no longer watches silently from the sidelines as North Korea, China and now Russia attempt to change the status quo. Now Japanese leaders recognize the danger of inaction. Their goal is to ensure that no one belittles Japan's strength,” Smith highlighted.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/ecco-come-si-rafforza-la-cooperazione-militare-tra-usa-e-giappone/ on Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:33:55 +0000.