The US military is considering modifying its command structure in Japan to better coordinate with the Japan Self-Defense Forces in a Taiwan contingency, the Nikkei Shimbun reported on Saturday.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024 passed by the US Senate at the end of last month calls for the US secretary of defense to draw up a plan for enhancing US security cooperation with Japan, by coordinating and engaging with the joint headquarters of the Self-Defense Forces. The bill calls for the secretary to provide an analysis of the feasibility and advisability of modifying US command structures in Japan.
The new headquarters, which is expected to launch by March 2025, would oversee operations of all three branches of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Nikkei reported.
Photo: AFP / handout / South Korean Ministry of Defense
US President Joe Biden’s administration has begun initial discussions on the modification, people familiar with the matter told Nikkei, which added that the Pentagon declined to comment on the issue.
US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Vice Chairman Rob Wittman voiced support for the Senate’s provision, saying that more time for operational coordination “sometimes can be the difference between victory and defeat,” the Nikkei reported.
The effectiveness of the coordination between the US and Japan should be constantly examined, he added.
The US command structure in Japan is expected to be one of the issues both chambers must address when they convene to draft a final text of the NDAA in the fall, the newspaper said.
As Japan implements its biggest defense reforms since World War II, the long-standing “sword and shield relationship” between the US and Japan is disappearing, it said.
Japan is acquiring long-range strike capabilities such as Tomahawk cruise missiles, and has indicated that it is more willing to get involved in military operations in defense of Taiwan, it added.
The US needs to establish joint command elements in Japan to avoid overlap in operations and ensure swift actions in a contingency, Japan chair at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies Christopher Johnstone said.
The US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii is in charge of coordinating with the Japan Self-Defense Forces, but remote coordination between Tokyo and Hawaii might be risky as China could disrupt communications with cyberattacks, senior political scientist at the RAND Corp Jeffrey Hornung said.
The US military established a Joint Support Force in Tokyo in 2011 to respond to the tsunami-earthquake and the meltdown of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, the Nikkei reported.
The force, which was led by the commander of the Pacific Fleet, coordinated day-to-day operations and consulted with the Japanese government on joint responses, it said.
The experience indicated that the US lacked standing joint elements in Japan to facilitate coordination, said James Schoff, a senior director at the Washington-based Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA.
“Valuable time could be lost when responding to a crisis, and it will take a while for all participants to get up to speed,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as