‘Signal to China’: US military command upgrade in Japan mark of commitment to region, analysts say

The upgrading of the command and control of US forces in Japan will allow both countries to better deal with “fluid circumstances” and sends a “powerful geopolitical signal to China” on the strength of Washington’s commitment to Tokyo and the region, according to observers.

On Sunday, US and Japanese defence chiefs and top diplomats agreed at the Japan-US Security Consultative Committee in Tokyo, known as the “2+2” security talks, to further bolster military cooperation by upgrading the command and control of American forces in the East Asian country.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts, Yoko Kamikawa and Minoru Kihara, also agreed to strengthen American-licensed missile production in Japan, describing the rising threat from China as “the greatest strategic challenge”.

Japan is home to more than 50,000 American troops, but the commander for the US Forces Japan headquartered in Yokota in the western suburbs of Tokyo, tasked with managing their bases, has no commanding authority.

The change in plans will give the USFJ greater capability while still reporting to the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii.

Austin said the command upgrade “will be the most significant change to the US Forces Japan since its creation and one of the strongest improvements in our military ties with Japan in 70 years”.

“We are standing at a historic turning point as the rules-based, free and open international order is shaken to the core,” Kamikawa said. “Now is a critical phase when our decision today determines our future.”

In the joint statement issued after the talks, the ministers said China’s foreign policy “seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of