Japan and US Strengthen Military Ties to Counter China Threat

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine and a U.S. Navy destroyer pictured in a joint anti-submarine drill in the South China Sea in November 2021. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force

News Analysis

Unlike the ambiguity in the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes it unclear whether or not the United States would fight for Taiwan, America is bound by a treaty to defend Japan and the Senkaku Islands, under Article 5 of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.