Austin Says US Willing to Use Nukes to Defend Japan as 2 Nations Boost Military Cooperation

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken participate in the Peace, Security, and Governance Forum during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Dec. 13, 2022 in Washington. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The United States is willing to use nuclear weapons to defend its ally Japan, and will defend Japan’s claim to the Senkaku Islands, which communist China claims as its own, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Jan. 11.

His remarks came as the two countries agreed to deepen strategic and military cooperation in the face of multiple challenges, including increasing aggression by China’s ruling communist regime.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the increased cooperation on Thursday after a meeting between Blinken, Austin, and their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, and Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu in Washington.

Blinken said that Japan and the United States were strengthening an already strong alliance, and would continue to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) malign influence throughout the world.

“It is hard to overstate the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance,” Blinken said at a joint press conference.

“For more than seven decades it has been the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring the security, liberty, and prosperity of our people and people across the region.”

“We agree that the PRC is the greatest strategic challenge that we, our allies, and partners face,” Blinken added, using the acronym for the regime’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

The remarks followed the conclusion of the 2023 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee, colloquially called the two-plus-two meeting, between state and defense leaders of each nation, which Blinken and Austin co-hosted.

US Retains Right to Use Nukes in Defense of Japan

Austin announced that the United States and Japan had agreed to a “historic decision to optimize U.S. force posture in Japan,” that would forward station more U.S. capabilities to bolster deterrence to help defend Japan.

As part of this effort, Austin said, the United States would reorganize the 12^th Artillery Regiment into the 12^th Marine Littoral Regiment, in line with the U.S. Marine Corps’ current restructuring, aimed at improving combat effectiveness in dispersed amphibious regions against major powers.

The new formation, Austin said, would be equipped with advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as anti-ship and anti-transportation systems “relevant to the current and future threat environments.”

Austin reiterated that the United States was committed to the defense of its ally and would use any means necessary to defend it from attack, including nuclear weapons. Moreover, he said, the United States recognized Japan’s claim to the Senkaku Islands as part of this pledge. Japan has mostly controlled the Senkaku Islands, which lie in the East China Sea, since 1895, but Beijing began asserting its right over the islands in the 1970s and called them the Diaoyu Islands.

“Japan and the United States remain united in the face of China’s destabilizing actions,” Austin said.

“I want to reaffirm the United States’ iron-clad commitment to defend Japan with the full range of capabilities including nuclear, and underscore that Article Five of the Mutual Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands.”

Article 5 of the 1960 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the two countries maintains that the United States will defend Japan if it is attacked by a third party. Japan’s constitution limits its military to a largely self-defense role. Moreover, while Japan’s constitution does not outright ban nuclear weapons, the nation does not maintain any type of nuclear weapons due to longstanding policies.

Deepening Deterrence

Officials from both countries further agreed to continue their work on “extended deterrence” and deepening multilateral and regional partnerships to ensure the continued stability and security of the Indo-Pacific region.

To that end, Blinken said that the two nations were expanding their efforts to work together in several specific domains.

“We’re committed to upholding shared values of democracy and human rights, defending the international rule of law, continuing to lead the world in tackling global challenges that no one country can solve alone, like the climate crisis and deadly viruses,” Blinken said.

“In the face of these and other challenges, today we discussed ways to deepen our coordination, including on allied command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, joint and shared usage of facilities, and increased bilateral exercises.”

Hayashi, Japan’s foreign minister, said that the need to counter the CCP was dire, and that the communist regime remained the greatest threat to the international order.

“China presents an unprecedented, and the greatest strategic challenge,” Hayashi said. “Its foreign policy to recreate the international order to serve its self-interest is a grave concern for the Japan-U.S. alliance and the whole of the international community.”

Blinken said the meeting was “very productive and wide-ranging” and would ensure that the alliance remained an enduring cornerstone of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“The bottom line is this,” Blinken said. “We and our people are always stronger and more secure together.”