US ambassador to Japan urges Tokyo to help quickly replenish US missile inventory

“It is clear that the United States military industrial base cannot meet all the strategic challenges that we have and obligations we have,” Ambassador Rahm Emanuel said.

“The goal here is not more meetings. The goal is production,” Emanuel said, adding: “Those who want to do harm to the United States are not going to wait for our industrial capacity to build itself up.”

The ambassador said China’s shipbuilding capacity will surpass the US and that repairs in Japan of US navy ships and Air Force aircraft deployed in the region can free up US industrial capacity to focus on building new ships.

This week’s talks in Tokyo are between US Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante and his Japanese counterpart, Masaki Fukasawa, head of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency.

They agreed to establish working groups for missile co-production and for maintenance and repair of US navy ships and Air Force aircraft in the region, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement. There will be also a group to discuss a stronger supply chain.

Japan in December eased its arms export restrictions to accommodate a US request for shipment of surface-to-air PAC-3 missile interceptors produced in Japan under an American licence to complement US inventory that has decreased due to its support for Ukraine.