US–Japan Security Talks Focus on Bolstering Military Cooperation, Underscores Threat From China

US–Japan Security Talks Focus on Bolstering Military Cooperation, Underscores Threat From China
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd L) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) pose with Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa (2nd R) and Japan's Defense Minister Minoru Kihara (R) at the start of the "Foreign and Defense Ministerial (2+2) Meeting" at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on July 28, 2024. Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images
The Associated Press
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TOKYO—Japanese and U.S. defense chiefs and top diplomats agreed to further bolster their military cooperation by upgrading the command and control of U.S. forces in the East Asian country and strengthening American-licensed missile production there, describing the rising threat from China as “the greatest strategic challenge.”

Japan is home to more than 50,000 U.S. troops, but the commander for the U.S. Forces Japan headquartered in Yokota in the western suburbs of Tokyo, tasked with managing their bases, has no commanding authority. Instead, instructions come from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii. The plans will give the USFJ greater capability while still reporting to INDOPACOM.