On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth unveiled a strategic plan to enhance the U.S. military command in Japan, emphasizing the nation’s crucial role in countering Chinese aggression.
“We share a warrior ethos that defines our forces,” Hegseth stated during his meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in Tokyo, highlighting Japan as “our indispensable partner” in “deterring communist Chinese military aggression,” especially across the Taiwan Strait.
Hegseth hailed Japan as a “cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific,” reiterating that the Trump administration would continue fostering strong ties with the Asian nation.
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In the previous year, the Biden administration announced a significant restructuring of the U.S. military command in Japan to enhance collaboration with Japanese forces, as both allied nations identified China as their “greatest strategic challenge.”
The restructuring will introduce a combined operational commander in Japan, serving as a counterpart to the joint operations command recently established by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
Hegseth’s commendation for Japan stands in contrast to his earlier critiques of European allies, where he cautioned against assuming that U.S. military presence in the region is guaranteed indefinitely.
U.S. President Donald Trump has voiced concerns that the bilateral defense treaty obligating the U.S. to defend Japan is not mutually beneficial. During his first term, he insisted that Japan should increase its financial support for hosting U.S. troops.
Japan accommodates 50,000 U.S. military personnel, fighter jet squadrons, and America’s sole forward-deployed aircraft carrier strike group within a 1,900-mile East Asian archipelago that strategically limits Chinese military expansion.
As Japan doubles its military expenditure, including investments in longer-range missiles, its military operations remain constrained by its U.S.-drafted constitution, which prohibits initiating warfare.
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Hegseth and Nakatani have agreed to expedite plans for jointly producing beyond-visual-range air-to-air AMRAAM missiles and to explore collaboration on the SM-6 surface-to-air defense missiles to address munitions shortages, according to Nakatani.
The Pentagon chief requested Nakatani for enhanced access to Japan’s strategic southwest islands, located near the contested East China Sea adjacent to Taiwan.
During his inaugural official visit to Asia, Hegseth traveled from the Philippines to Japan.
On Saturday, he participated in a memorial service on Iwo Jima, the historic site of conflict between U.S. and Japanese forces 80 years ago.
