The US and Japan "China's biggest strategic challenge... Deepening Korea-US-Japan cooperation in response to North Korea's provocation"

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US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln

The United States and Japan identified China as their biggest strategic challenge on the 11th (local time) and reaffirmed their will to strengthen closer bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The two countries also condemned North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats and repeatedly shared their position on pursuing complete denuclearization of North Korea.

The United States then openly stated its position of support for Japan's defense strengthening policy, which aims to equip Japan with so-called 'counterattack capabilities' that can strike enemy bases if attacked.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada held a “diplomacy and defense 2+2 meeting” in Washington, DC, the U.S. this afternoon, discussing pending issues and holding a joint press conference. announced this through

The meeting was of a pre-arranged nature prior to the summit between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, scheduled for two days later at the White House.

At the meeting, the two countries discussed ways to cooperate on security in the Indo-Pacific region, including containment of China, and reaffirmed support for Japan's policy to strengthen its defense capabilities amidst the changing regional situation.

"We agree that China's foreign policy seeks to transform the international order for its own benefit," they said in a joint statement.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation to ensure that Japan has an effective 'counterattack capability'.

At the end of last year, Japan mentioned missile threats from neighboring countries such as China and North Korea, and announced that it would stipulate that it possesses counterattack capabilities that can attack enemy missile bases through revision of its security strategy document.

In this regard, Japan has reflected the largest-ever purchase of weapons in this year's Ministry of Defense budget for the purchase of long-range cruise missiles such as Tomahawks and stealth fighters.

The two countries also plan to strengthen military exercises and upgrade their combined defense posture to respond to growing security threats from China, Russia and others, including North Korea.

The United States and Japan are also planning to sign a new treaty this week that extends the existing defense treaty to space.

Minister Blincoln said at a press conference, "Japan's new national security strategy and plans to strengthen its defense capabilities clearly show Japan's promise to play a new role by strengthening its security capabilities in cooperation with the United States." I applaud Japan's policy of raising it by ship," he said.

Minister Blincoln said, “There is no overemphasis on the importance of the US-Japan alliance over the past 70 years,” and emphasized that “this is the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”

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▲ U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin

Secretary of Defense Austin gave strong support to Japan's decision to possess counterattack capabilities, saying, "The US defense commitment to Japan is iron-clad, which includes the full range of assets, including nuclear weapons." It is emphasized that this also applies to the Senkaku Islands, where territorial disputes are brewing.”

Secretary Austin also unveiled plans to deploy a newly mobile Marine unit to Okinawa, Japan, as part of an enhanced readiness posture against China. explained.

He repeatedly condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations and its acts of undermining national security, and reaffirmed the need to promote complete denuclearization of North Korea and strengthen trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan to achieve this.

Minister Blincoln said, "We are facing North Korea's illegal and reckless missile launches, including a long-range ballistic missile that passed over Japan last October." We are deepening our cooperation,” he said.

"We discussed a number of issues, including our common interest in peace and stability in the East and South China Seas and around Taiwan," Austin said. "This includes our commitment to the denuclearization of North Korea."

He also added, “Korea, Australia, and Korea are in a position to expand cooperation across all domains, including space and cyberspace.

"(At the meeting), we strongly condemned North Korea for launching ballistic missiles with unprecedented frequency over the past year, and reaffirmed our firm commitment to complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions," he said.

"The positions of the US and Japan are perfectly aligned," he said.

Meanwhile, on the possibility of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Secretary Austin said, "We are seeing very provocative actions by China recently, and we see this as part of China's attempt to make it a 'new normal'." I seriously question it."