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A new chapter in defense opens for Japan in 2023. The Asian country and the United States have agreed to expand their military cooperation in the face of the challenge posed by China in the Indo-Pacific region.
The agreement allows the United States to optimize its military presence in the archipelago and strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity. This has been confirmed by the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken.
“I think what you’re seeing in real time is an alliance modernizing. And the United States and Japan are working together to be ready for new challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. So we couldn’t be more pleased. with the work we’re doing together,” Blinken said at a joint press conference.
Two of Japan’s growing concerns were China’s missile tests near Japan and maneuvers by Chinese ships in Japanese waters near Taiwan. For the first time since World War II, Washington will allow Tokyo to give itself the ability to attack enemy bases in the event of a threat to national security.
“China represents an unprecedented and greatest strategic challenge of all. China’s foreign policy to recreate the international order, to serve its own interests, is a grave concern to the Japan-US alliance and the entire international community,” he said. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
The cooperation agreement signed this Wednesday in the US capital also implies a record increase in Japanese military spending.
According to experts, this is Japan’s biggest defense turnaround since 1945. And for the United States it means a great opportunity to maintain its dominant position in Asia-Pacific.
Japan signs historic treaty with the UK
The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, signed in London the so-called Reciprocal Access Agreement, a historic defense treaty that will allow the Armed Forces of both countries to be deployed in their respective territories.
This is the first agreement of its kind in Europe and the largest between the United Kingdom and the Asian country since 1902, with which the relationship is now “stronger than ever,” Sunak said today when welcoming Kishida.
Both leaders agreed that this “collaboration in defense and security” will not only benefit their countries, but also “global stability,” the British government said in a statement issued after the act of signing the protocol.
