A historic military agreement and a message to China and Russia.. What will Britain and Japan benefit from the defense agreement between them?

LONDON -

The United Kingdom and Japan have signed a defense agreement, the first and most important of its kind in more than a century. The last defense agreement signed between the two countries dates back to 1902.

The agreement was signed during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to London, during which he met his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak.

The agreement is the first of its kind signed by Japan with a European country, and allows for the presence of British soldiers on Japanese soil, as well as joint defense in the event of any attack on either country, similar to that signed with the United States and Australia.

This agreement will not pass without causing a lot of apprehension among certain countries, especially China and Russia, because it combines the British army ranked as the fifth most powerful army in the world and the Japanese army ranked as the eighth most powerful army in the world, and it would not have passed without American blessing, which explains the prime minister’s approach. The Japanese direct from Europe to the United States to meet US President Joe Biden and review Japan's new defense strategy.

What does Britain want from Japan?

The United Kingdom's agreement to sign a joint defense agreement with Japan, despite its military security sensitivities, is in line with the new British military doctrine expressed by the vision of "Global Britain" after the Kingdom's exit from the European Union. Pacific Ocean to counter Chinese threats there.

The military cooperation with Japan in the Pacific Ocean comes after Britain signed the AUKUS agreement with the United States and Australia to build nuclear submarines whose mission will be to monitor the Pacific Ocean and form a deterrent weapon against Chinese moves in the region.

The agreement will allow the United Kingdom to obtain military bases in the Pacific Ocean and move its naval and nuclear fleet towards Japanese ports.

On the other hand, The Times questioned the United Kingdom's ability to tip the scales in Japan in the face of Chinese threats, and said that the presence of dozens or hundreds of British soldiers and military equipment would not change much in the equation there, based on the fact that the United States is the guarantor of deterrence. China.

What is Britain's goal from this agreement?

The main objective of the British army from this agreement is to benefit from Japan's decision to raise its military budget to reach 315 billion dollars over the next five years, an increase of 57%, a budget that tempts Britain, which is eager to conclude huge deals with the Japanese army.

As for the second goal, it is to benefit from Japanese technology, to serve the British project called "Tempest", for which Britain has allocated a budget of more than two billion pounds sterling to develop the latest aircraft in the world, after the famous "Typhoon" warplanes are out of service during the next four years.

What will Japan gain from the agreement?

It is well known that Japan relies entirely on the United States in everything related to military affairs, whether in terms of arms deals or providing military support and deterrence to any threat from China or North Korea, with more than 50,000 American soldiers in Japan, and the latter allocates an annual budget of $ About 9 billion dollars.

However, the British Financial Times said that there is a growing feeling among Japanese military leaders that permanent dependence on Washington has made Japan weak in terms of developing military technology, especially after it completely changed its military doctrine and abandoned the idea of ​​limiting itself to defense only.

That is why the Japanese decision settled on the United Kingdom as the second largest exporter of weapons and military technology in the world, and because it is the closest ally of the United States, and the latter will not oppose any military cooperation between Tokyo and London.

Are there joint military projects?

The most important military project that Britain is currently working on alongside Japan and Italy is a project to develop the latest combat aircraft in the world, which will see the light by 2035, and it is the first joint project that brings together the three countries.

According to the British army, the project will enable the manufacture of the latest, fastest, and most powerful warplanes known to the world, and perhaps this is what Britain and Japan are looking for to ensure air supremacy. Russia during the ongoing air skirmishes between the two parties in the Black Sea, especially.

This tripartite project is considered a competitor to a similar project led by France, Germany and Spain, and it almost caused a diplomatic crisis before the outbreak of the Ukrainian war that prompted Western armies to set aside their differences.

The cost of this project has not been specified, but all expectations speak of tens of billions of dollars, and it will be supervised by 3 companies, the British BAE company, which is considered one of the largest companies in the manufacture of military aircraft and has a major role in the manufacture of the F-35 aircraft. (F-35), in addition to the Italian company "Leonardo" and the Japanese company "Mitsubishi".

What about China and America?

The United States will not oppose the joint defense agreement. Rather, this agreement was concluded with an American green light, due to Washington's desire to strengthen military relations between the West and Japan, and this was evident during the recent NATO summit, which was attended by US President Joe Biden, in which he was keen to attend Japan as a head. The bayonet in the face of Chinese and North Korean threats.

As for China, it will receive the message, especially since the agreement comes months after the British and Japanese armies conducted a military maneuver on a Japanese island.

At that time, many read that this maneuver was a simulation to deter any Chinese military move against the island of Taiwan, which is considered a direct message to Beijing, which is already uncomfortable with the British-American moves in the Pacific Ocean, especially through nuclear submarines.