U.S. and Japanese diplomatic and military leaders agreed to revise the 1997 Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation, increase security and defense collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond, and advance the realignment of American troops in Japan.
U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met with their counterparts, Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, in a series of meetings yesterday that culminated in a “two-plus-two” engagement.
Hagel said that all four discussed, “Our goal … [of] a more balanced and effective alliance, where our two militaries are full partners working side-by-side with each other, and with other regional partners, to enhance peace and security.”
The gathering was highlighted by intense interest in Japan as the nation’s government is reportedly considering expanding the role of its self-defense forces.
Hagel said that after 16 years, revising the defense guidelines makes sense. The close alliance between the two countries, rising security threats in the region and the increasingly global nature of those threats, he said, all urge a reexamination of the agreement governing each nation’s roles and responsibilities in defense and contingency operations.
Other key agreements the four ministers announced include:
The realignment plan will relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now in the center of Okinawa’s Ginowan City, to a more remote area of the island. It also moves a Marine Corps squadron of KC-130 Hercules aircraft from Futenma to MCAS Iwakuni, transfers elements of the Navy’s Carrier Air Wing 5 from Atsugi Air Facility to Iwakuni, and shifts thousands of Marines from Okinawa to Guam in the first half of the 2020s.
[mappress] Press release, October 4, 2013; Image: US DoD