[Global Times comprehensive report] "The United States and Japan are planning to upgrade the security treaty on the largest scale in more than 60 years." On March 24 local time, the Financial Times quoted insiders to disclose that US President Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Kishida will announce the plan to restructure the US military headquarters in Japan when they meet at the White House on April 10, And strengthen the coordination of war planning and exercises between the two countries to "confront China". Recently, Japan has comprehensively adjusted its security policy, substantially increased its defense budget, continuously relaxed arms export restrictions, and sought breakthrough military development. At the same time, Japan has intensified its military ties with the United States and its allies in the Asia Pacific region, and constantly played up the so-called "China threat". In this regard, a Chinese expert told the Global Times reporter on the 25th that Japan's move was to gain the recognition of the United States for Japan's "normal country", and even to become the "second leader" in the "Indo Pacific system" of the United States. However, Japan's behavior of "helping the tiger" will only bring destabilizing factors to regional peace and aggravate the vigilance and concern of Asian countries and the international community about Japan's adherence to the path of peace.
Upgrade the security treaty "against China"
On March 24, the British Financial Times quoted five insiders to disclose that the United States and Japan hope to further strengthen the security alliance to deal with the so-called "growing threat from China", which requires their troops to have more seamless cooperation and planning, "especially in the face of potential crises such as the Taiwan Strait conflict".
It is reported that in the past few years, Japan has significantly increased its defense spending, improved its military equipment level, and purchased the US Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Japanese Self Defense Force also plans to establish the "Integrated Operations Command" next year to improve the internal coordination of the Japanese Self Defense Force. However, the military cooperation and command coordination between the US troops stationed in Japan and the Japanese Self Defense Forces are still hampered. Japan has to deal more with the US Indo Pacific Command in Hawaii, which is 6200 kilometers away from Tokyo and has a 19 hour time difference. It is extremely inconvenient for the two sides to coordinate. John Stone, a former senior official of the Pentagon and the CIA and a researcher of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that upgrading the U.S. military command in Japan would be "a big step towards building a more credible U.S. - Japan military alliance" and "would make a significant contribution to deterrence in the region". In addition, Aguilino, commander of the US Indo Pacific Command, also proposed to form a new joint task force in Japan.
On the 25th, the Kyodo News Agency, the Yomiuri Shimbun and other media also quoted the source to report the relevant news. The Yomiuri Shimbun said that at present, China is "constantly strengthening military pressure in East Asia, and 'something is happening in Taiwan' is also worrying". However, the U.S. Command in Japan has limited authority in supervising Japan US joint training and applying Japan US security treaties. In addition, in South Korea, the command and control of the US and South Korean forces in South Korea are integrated, while the command systems of the Japanese Self Defense Forces and the US forces in Japan are separate. According to the report, the direction of revision is that the command of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet and the Marine Corps stationed in Japan will continue to belong to the Indo Pacific Command, while strengthening the authority of the U.S. Command stationed in Japan, giving it the authority to draw up joint exercises and training plans between Japan and the United States, coordinate with the "Integrated Operations Command" of the Japanese Self Defense Forces, and share information. In order to strengthen the coordination between the Japanese Self Defense Forces and the U.S. forces stationed in Japan, the plan of Japan and the United States to establish a normalized joint headquarters in Japan also surfaced.
In 1960, the United States and Japan signed the United States Japan Security Treaty in Washington, declaring that the two countries "will jointly maintain and develop military forces to resist armed attacks from other countries". The treaty includes provisions on the stationing of US troops in Japan, clearly stating Japan's responsibility to support and the US military's responsibility to defend Japan once "something happens". In December 2021, Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister of Japan, extended the scope of "something" in the Japan US security treaty to Taiwan, claiming that "something is happening in Taiwan" means something is happening in Japan, and it means something is happening in the Japan US alliance ".
Song Zhongping, a military expert, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 25th that the US Japan security treaty was signed during the Cold War. The United States signed this treaty, on the one hand to fight against the Soviet Union, on the other hand to prevent Japanese militarism. Today, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union has long ended, and Japan's own situation has also changed. Japan has turned to the right as a whole from a country that had taken the path of peaceful development before, actively seeking to use foreign troops, in an attempt to completely shake off its status as a "defeated country in World War II" and become a political and military power. In the past, the US Japan security treaty emphasized that the US should follow Japan, but now Japan hopes to improve its position and voice in the US Japan alliance by taking advantage of the so-called "China threat" and the US's "Indo Pacific strategy" to contain China.
Japan and the United States strengthen military ties
In recent years, the United States and Japan have been strengthening military ties between the two countries, and publicly declared "against China". Last June, US Defense Secretary Austin claimed that the United States and Japan were making efforts to further modernize their military relations in order to "prevent China's coercion".
The Japanese government has also strengthened its military strength on many occasions on the pretext of "China threat". According to Kyodo News Agency, Takeo Kishida gave "instructions" to graduates when attending the graduation ceremony of Japan National Defense University on the 23rd. He claimed that the military construction in Japan's peripheral areas, including the development of nuclear weapons and missiles, has been accelerating, and "attempts to unilaterally change the status quo through force are increasing". Japan "faces the most complex and challenging security environment since World War II". Kishida said that "in order to avoid the threat of military attack and other threats affecting Japan, we will deter the emergence of emergencies".
On March 24, the founding ceremony of the third unit of the "Land and Water Mobile Regiment" of the Japanese Land Self Defense Force, known as the Japanese version of the "Marine Corps", was held at Takematsu Station in Nagasaki. At the founding ceremony, Japanese Defense Minister Hiroshi Kihara "strengthened maritime expansion against China" claimed that island defense is directly related to the existence of the country, and must clearly demonstrate the ability to "never change the status quo unilaterally by relying on force".
On February 4, the Kyodo News Agency quoted several government related sources as saying that the highest level exercise being conducted by the Japanese Self Defense Forces and the US military clearly listed China as a "hypothetical enemy" for the first time. Kyodo News Agency said that the preset script of the exercise was the so-called "Taiwan emergency". According to the report, compared with the previous joint military exercises between Japan and the United States, the change of the name of the enemy country shows a "strong sense of crisis" between Japan and the United States, which is a "big step forward". In response to this news, the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Japan said that we immediately expressed our serious concern to Japan and clarified our solemn position. The Japanese side clarified that the relevant reports were untrue. The spokesman stressed that for some time, some domestic forces in Japan have been making troubles on the Taiwan issue, playing up tensions in the Taiwan Strait, provoking confrontation, and the tendency to be restless and adventurous has increased significantly. The relevant actions seriously violate the one China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan.
Cause great concern
The US Japan plan to upgrade the security treaty has attracted great attention from many countries in the Asia Pacific region. South Korea's Central Daily said on the 25th that the US and Japan's move is to expand the scope of activities of the Japanese Self Defense Forces to support the operations of US troops stationed in Japan when "war occurs on the Korean Peninsula or the Taiwan Strait". According to the report, there are currently 54000 US troops stationed in Japan, about twice as many as those stationed in South Korea (28500). According to the report, Takeo Kishida, like Shinzo Abe, advocates amending Article 9 of the Peace Constitution to try to turn the Self Defense Forces into a de facto army. At present, South Korea is highly concerned about the relevant discussions between the United States and Japan, because it is not only related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, but also to the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the overall security situation in Northeast Asia. South Korean diplomatic sources said that in the long run, the United States seems to be expecting Japan to expand its military role in the Asia Pacific region. Maxwell, vice president of the US Asia Pacific Strategic Center and former chief of staff of the US military in South Korea, said: "Japan is the rear base of the US military. In the long run, it is not ruled out that the Japanese Self Defense Forces may enter the Korean Peninsula to fight. However, this requires the recognition and political decision of the South Korean government."
The New York News Daily said that the negotiations on upgrading the security treaty between the United States and Japan had triggered heated debate. Supporters believe that this is a necessary measure for the United States to "woo allies to counter China's growing influence"; Critics believe that with the involvement of the US government in wars around the world, people are suspicious of the real motivation behind the US Japan security treaty upgrade. As the upgraded security treaty gradually takes shape, Asia Pacific countries will pay close attention to the next move of the United States and Japan.
In response to the strengthening of military ties between Japan and the United States, Wu Qian, a spokesman of the Ministry of Defense, said not long ago that the United States connives at Japan's military expansion, exacerbates the momentum of the arms race, impacts regional peace and security, undermines global strategic stability, and damages the international order based on international law. China firmly opposes this.
On the 25th, the Russian News said that the United States was "drawing its allies to confront China in the Asia Pacific region". On April 11, the leaders of the United States, Japan and the Philippines will meet for the first time in Washington. The United States has been strengthening cooperation with the two countries in the field of defense. The United States has military bases in Japan and the Philippines. At the same time, Japan and the Philippines are cooperating in the military field: the two sides may sign an agreement on the stationing of troops in each other's territory in the first quarter of 2024. American Asia Pacific expert Said said that whether the three parties will form a military cooperation agreement similar to "Okus" remains to be seen, but it is worth noting that the United States recently strengthened its defense cooperation with Japan and the Philippines, indicating that the United States intends to increase its containment of China. The recent escalation of tensions between China and the Philippines on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea confirms this. Peter Kuznick, a history professor at American University, said that the United States is militarizing the entire Asia Pacific region. However, he believes that despite this, these attempts by the United States are futile.
[Yue Linwei, Special Correspondent of Global Times in Japan and South Korea, Lin Sen, Special Correspondent of Global Times Guo Xiaowei, Special Correspondent of Global Times Chen Kangliu Yupeng]
