The United States and Japan are creating a new military command structure aimed at deterring Chinese communist aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
The new structure will convert the about 50,000-strong U.S. Forces Japan into a joint force headquarters unit under the authority of the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
News of the new joint force was announced on July 28, following a ministerial meeting of top diplomatic and defense officials from the United States and Japan in Tokyo over the weekend.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the restructuring would help the two allies to modernize their forces and increase interoperability between militaries.
“This 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,” Mr. Austin said during a July 28 press conference.
“We welcome an historic decision to modernize our alliance command and control to better meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Mr. Austin said the new joint force headquarters would be rolled out in phases under the command of a three-star officer and would be a counterpart to Japan’s own Joint Operations Command.
According to a fact sheet distributed by the Pentagon, the new headquarters will also be pivotal in increasing bilateral training, exercises, and operations. Likewise, both nations will increase their presence in Japan’s Ryukyu Arc, an archipelago that stretches to within 70 miles of Taiwan at its southwesternmost point.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said the agreement was needed to turn back the growing aggression of authoritarian powers in the region, including China, North Korea, and Russia.
“On the regional security environment, we agreed that China’s external stance and military actions aiming to recreate the international order to meet its own interests are posing serious concerns for us, for the region, as well as the international community,” Ms. Kamikawa said via an interpreter.
Driving those security concerns, according to the statement, were communist China’s massive nuclear expansion, North Korea’s attempts to build a nuclear arsenal for itself, and Russia’s illegal arms deals with North Korea, which Moscow relies on to conduct its war in Ukraine.
To that end, the leaders said Japan and the United States would work toward increasing co-production of key missile capabilities, including the Patriot system, and would strengthen cooperation in cybersecurity, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
“We are reinforcing our combined ability to deter and respond to coercive behavior in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” Mr. Austin said.
“We’re reinforcing the rules-based international order that keeps us all safe. And the agreements that we’ve advanced today will ensure that the U.S.–Japan alliance remains a cornerstone of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
