WE READ with interest the joint statement issued by the United States and Japan on Sunday following high level discussions aimed at enhancing their already close defense cooperation.
This gains particular relevance, given the tottering situation in the region, not excluding what they described as China’s “unlawful maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features and provocative activities in the South China Sea.”
We are persuaded by the statement – dubbed “2+2” talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts – which said China’s “foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others.”
The statement, issued after Blinken’s and Austin’s talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, also confirmed plans to establish in Japan a new Joint Force Headquarters, headed by a three-star US commander, for the 54,000 military personnel stationed there.
This will serve as a counterpart to Japan’s planned Joint Operations Command for all its armed forces, making the two militaries more nimble in the case of a crisis over Taiwan or the Korean peninsula, given the Hawaii-based Indo-Pacific Command is around 6,500 kilometers away and 19 hours behind.
On Monday, Blinken and Kamikawa were to meet S. Jaishankar and Penny Wong, their Indian and Australian counterparts in the Quad, an alliance seen as a bulwark against China.
It is interesting the Tokyo statement called the US-Japan alliance “the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.”
This month Japan and the Philippines — Blinken and Austin’s next stop for a “2+2” — signed a defense pact that will allow the deployment of troops on each other’s territory.
This followed the first trilateral summit in April between the leaders of Japan, the Philippines and the United States in Washington.
As with Manila, Japan and South Korea have also moved to bury the hatchet over World War II, with US President Joe Biden hosting both countries’ leaders at Camp David last August.
The Tokyo “2 + 2” talks coincided with reports China permitted the Philippines resupply mission – yet another blatant lie by China – in Manila’s outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea refuted China’s claims it inspected the supplies the Philippine military was carrying to ensure only humanitarian necessities were ferried to the grounded BRP Sierra Madre and there was no boarding nor inspection.
“To clarify, the Philippines did not and will never seek permission from the PRC to conduct resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal,” the task force said.
The Task Force statement is plausible.
