Pentagon Seeks to Remove Fighter Jets From Japan; Republicans Demand Answers

Japanese F-15 jets fly during the military review at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Asaka training ground on Oct. 27. China created an air defense zone in the East China Sea, which requires foreign jets to cooperate with Chinese authorities. (Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images)

Republican lawmakers are seeking an explanation from U.S. military leadership about reports that the Pentagon is seeking to end the presence of dozens of fighter jets in Japan without creating a new permanent force to replace them.

According to Defense News, the Pentagon is planning to remove two squadrons of F-15C Eagle fighters that are currently stationed in Japan. The effort is intended to help modernize the military by phasing out old aircraft such as the F-15, which has been in service since 1976.

The vacancy left by the maneuver, however, will only be covered by rotational forces and not a permanent fighter presence, leaving the close U.S. ally in a tight spot amid continuing tensions with communist China and North Korea.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas) have sent a letter (pdf) requesting that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin explain the Pentagon’s decision to not reinforce the units.

“As you know, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is expanding its aggression in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” the letter reads.

“We are concerned that [the Department of Defense’s] decision sends the wrong signal, not only to the CCP, but also to our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.”

The decision to end the stationing of the two squadrons would terminate the presence of at least 48 fighters. The letter’s signatories say that the Pentagon’s plans to replace the squadron’s F-22 fighters from Alaska on a rotational basis wouldn’t be sufficient to make up for that loss.

Instead, they say, such an effort would result in “a tangible reduction in American forward combat power.”

“While we agree with the need to modernize the Air Force’s fleet in order to counter the rising threat of the People’s Liberation Army, we are concerned with reporting that indicates that there will be no permanent presence to replace the Okinawa F-15s,” the letter reads.

Moreover, the signatories claimed that the removal of the two squadrons without an adequate permanent replacement would decrease the United States’ ability to deter CCP leader Xi Jinping from fulfilling his vow to forcibly unite Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.

“It is abundantly clear that General Secretary Xi intends to take over Taiwan and establish the CCP as the hegemon in the Indo-Pacific, which would have catastrophic strategic, geopolitical, military, and economic consequences for U.S. interests,” the letter reads.