The US will create a military command in Tokyo: WSJ revealed the nuances of the historic decision

American forces in Japan will be controlled from headquarters as Washington tries to strengthen allies in Asia.

The US will create a new military command in Japan . Washington seeks to strengthen its allies in Asia as China builds up its military power.

According to The Wall Street Journal , the new American command will coordinate military operations with the Japanese, plan joint exercises and participate in the country’s defense in the event of hostilities.

Thus, for the first time, the American combat capability will be under the command of a headquarters on the territory of Japan, because of which it is no longer necessary to wait for instructions from the US Indo-Pacific Command, which is located in Hawaii 3,500 miles away.

The move is designed to support Japan’s efforts to build up its military capabilities, including a new joint military command that Japanese authorities plan to establish early next year.

The creation of the command is also part of a broader effort to strengthen military relations between the allies and includes Japan’s efforts to strengthen the West’s industrial base, which is expected to include the delivery of Patriot anti-missile systems to the United States.

The US and Japan also have to contend with growing military cooperation between Russia and China, which last week sent a joint bomber patrol toward Alaska for the first time. Another danger is North Korea’s growing missile arsenal.

The US is already involved in an ambitious effort to help Australia acquire nuclear submarines. The US has also lifted restrictions on the range of ballistic missiles that South Korea can develop using US technology. Japan has decided to purchase hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, capable of attacking ground targets.

“It means that the US is ready to take steps to support allied capabilities in a way that we haven’t done before,” said Christopher Johnston, a former senior US official on Asia policy.

The work on the new Joint Command of the US Armed Forces is not yet complete. To create it, the US military plans to convert the existing administrative headquarters at a base near Tokyo.

“This is actually a new kind of cooperation for the US and Japan, and it’s going to take a lot of effort and we’re going to have to build new muscles to be able to do it,” said Zach Cooper, a former Defense Department official.

The situation in the Asia-Pacific region – the latest news

Vladimir Putin proposed to create a new Eurasian security architecture based on the alliance between Moscow and Beijing.

At the same time, the USA is withdrawing more modern aviation to East Asia , where the China-Russia-DPRK military-political alliance is becoming increasingly apparent.

(C)UNIAN 2024