China’s demonstrations of power and North Korea’s nuclear program are causing “serious concern” for the US and Japan. Therefore, the military cooperation between the two countries is to be deepened.
The United States and Japan want to expand their security cooperation in view of the threats posed by China and North Korea. Both sides agreed this at a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Kihara Minoru in Tokyo.
The ministers reaffirmed “the importance of the US-Japan alliance as a cornerstone for peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” according to a joint statement. The core of the resolutions is the establishment of a joint military headquarters in Japan to facilitate cooperation between US and Japanese armed forces.
Blinken and Austin also reiterated their commitment to extended US deterrence to protect Japan, according to the statement. By extended deterrence, the US means the “full range” of its military capabilities to defend South Korea – including nuclear weapons.
The agreements are a response to increasing threats in the region, it said. China’s foreign policy aims to change the international order to its own advantage and at the expense of others. Increasing Chinese demonstrations of power in the East and South China Seas and the rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal are cause for “serious concern”. The ministers also criticized North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile program and the growing cooperation between Russia, China and North Korea.
Source: Stern
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