The US and Japan have announced they will expand their security alliance into space in an effort to defend against attacks on satellites amid concerns about threats from China.
“We agree that an attack to, from or within space presents a clear challenge,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said after he and US defense secretary Lloyd Austin met their Japanese counterparts in Washington on Wednesday.
“We stress that, depending on the type of attack, this could lead to the invocation of Article 5 of our Japan-US security agreement,” Blinken added, pointing to a section of the agreement that states that an attack on either side would invoke it. another to “act to meet public danger”.
The announcement, which will come ahead of a summit between Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida and US president Joe Biden on Friday, marks the latest effort by Washington and Tokyo to increase cooperation in countering China and preparing for a possible conflict in Taiwan.
This is also because Beijing is increasing its satellite presence amid military activities in space.
Since Biden took office, the US and Japan have taken various actions to send a stronger message to China, including conducting war games and planning for war.
While the US is taking a hawkish stance towards Beijing, the aggressive activities of the Chinese military around Taiwan have contributed to a major change in Japan’s position in the need to bolster its security.
After years of urging Tokyo to beef up its defenses, US officials are enthusiastic about the changes, which were championed by former prime minister Shinzo Abe and have been taken up by his successors, Yoshihide Suga and now Kishida.
“Japan is stepping up over time and taking key steps with the United States, its partners in the Indo-Pacific, and in Europe,” Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said in a statement. “President Biden’s investment in our alliance is paying huge dividends in preventing and promoting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific – and globally.”
One senior US official said the move was a major “step change” from March 2020, when Suga visited Washington and signed the first US-Japan joint communique to mention Taiwan in more than 50 years.
“What Kishida has done has been more than not just any other Japanese leader before him, but more than we thought politically,” the official said.
Senior defense officials and diplomats also announced the planned deployment of the US Marine Corps Littoral Regiment, the most advanced Marine Corps formation, to Okinawa, which will be completed by 2025. The unit will include advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities as well as anti-ship and transportation capabilities. , officials said.
Austin said: “It will make a huge contribution to the effort to defend Japan and also promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
They also agreed to bolster bilateral training and training in Japan’s Southwest island, which Tokyo called Nansei island, where China recently increased its naval presence.
“There will be a time, not long ago, when these changes will be difficult and will take time to negotiate, especially in Okinawa,” said Chris Johnstone, Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “This shows the strength of the political consensus in Japan on the urgency of China’s challenge and the steps needed to address it.”
Kishida’s White House visit, his first since taking office in late 2021, comes weeks after Japan outlined radical security policy changes that would increase defense spending and gain counter-strike capabilities.
The five-year expansion of the military budget includes ¥5tn ($38bn) to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, which would allow Tokyo to strike targets in China.
Japanese officials said Kishida wanted to use the meeting with Biden to showcase US-Japan deterrence and seek Washington’s cooperation ahead of the G7 summit, which he will host in his hometown of Hiroshima in May.