US announces establishment of new military command in Japan

The announcement came after security talks in Tokyo between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, along with their Japanese counterparts Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara before the 'two plus two' talks at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, July 28. Photo: Pool

The unified command will be upgraded in phases, according to a joint statement issued by officials.

"To facilitate deeper interoperability and cooperation in joint bilateral operations during peacetime and contingency situations, the United States intends to reestablish U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) as a joint force headquarters within U.S. Indo-Pacific Command," the statement said.

Through a phased approach, the new USFJ joint force headquarters will “enhance capabilities and operational cooperation” with the new permanent joint headquarters of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, which is expected to be established before the end of this fiscal year in March next year.

The new USFJ headquarters will also "be primarily responsible for coordinating security operations in and around Japan under the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security," the statement said.

At the meeting, the four officials also agreed to strengthen information sharing and defense-industrial cooperation, emphasizing the goal of "maximizing the linkage between economic, technological and related strategies to promote innovation, strengthen industrial bases, promote flexible and reliable supply chains, and build strategic emerging industries in the future."

The new Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment (DICAS) framework launched by the allies will play a key role in this.

In it, the allies discussed efforts to establish a Japanese production system for the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile, the latest version of which is designed to be deployed on all variants of the F-35 stealth fighter. Japan has purchased nearly 150 of the advanced fifth-generation aircraft to replace its aging F-2 fighters.

They also agreed to increase production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) guided surface-to-air missiles in Japan for export to the United States, which is facing a stockpile shortage due to providing military assistance to Ukraine.

The United States and Japan have also moved forward with a broad agreement reached at a leaders' summit in April to repair U.S. warships and aircraft in Japan, as well as jointly develop and produce other advanced weapons.

Ngoc Anh (according to Japan Times, Reuters)

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