The United States has announced that it will overhaul its military forces in Japan as the two countries move to deepen defence cooperation, Washington and Tokyo said Sunday, 28 July 2024. The announcement comes in the background of increased Chines belligerence in the South China Sea (SCS) and asserting territorial claims in the SCS, while North Korea continues its illegal weapons programme – while both strengthen ties with Russia as it wages war in Ukraine.

The new US-Jap plans were announced by the US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their Japanese counterparts Minoru Kihara and Yoko Kamikawa after a meeting in Tokyo, where they also called China’s “political, economic, and military coercion” the “greatest strategic challenge” in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Undeniably, the latest American move is likely to fuel the ire of Beijing, which has watched warily as the US has bolstered ties with regional allies in a region, where observers say China seeks to be the dominant power – and where it accuses the US of fostering a Cold War-style bloc mentality.

Under the new plan, US forces in Japan would be “reconstituted” as a joint force headquarters reporting to the Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command to “facilitate deeper interoperability and cooperation on joint bilateral operations in peacetime and during contingencies,” according to the statement.

In a press conference following the meeting, Austin hailed the countries’ move to “modernise” their alliance command and control as an “historic decision.” “This will be the most significant change to US Forces Japan since its........

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