US, Japan unveil plans for military cooperation
The US and Japan unveiled plans to “enable seamless integration” of military operations as President Joe Biden hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a visit that underscored the Asian nation’s importance as a key ally in countering China.
The two leaders announced a list of initiatives on Wednesday aimed at boosting defence and intelligence cooperation, with projects ranging from missiles to moon landings. The move comes amid growing concerns over Beijing, with Biden and Kishida condemning China’s “dangerous” actions in the region.
“Our alliances are America’s greatest asset,” Biden told reporters Wednesday, calling plans for more interoperability between US and Japanese forces the “most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established.”
The two countries will improve their respective command-and-control systems, form an industrial council to look into building weapons together, network their missile defence systems with Australia and start a joint exercise with the UK, among other agreements. Biden and Kishida are also set to hold an unprecedented trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday. The joint statement released by Biden and Kishida also called China’s actions in the South China Sea “dangerous and escalatory”.
Leading technology, finance, and media executives gathered at the White House for a state dinner honoring the Japanese Prime Minister. Jpmorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink of Blackrock, Apple’s Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos of Amazon were among the business leaders attending the event, part of a guest list that highlighted the ties between the US and Asia’s secondlargest economy.