The U.S. and Japan unveiled plans to “enable seamless integration” of military operations as President Joe Biden hosted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in a visit that underscored the Asian nation’s importance as a key ally in countering China.
The two leaders announced a list of initiatives on Wednesday aimed at boosting defense and intelligence cooperation, with projects ranging from missiles to moon landings. The move comes amid growing concerns over Beijing, with Biden and Kishida condemning China’s “dangerous” actions in the region.
“Our alliances are America’s greatest asset,” Biden told reporters Wednesday, calling plans for more interoperability between U.S. and Japanese forces the “most significant upgrade in our alliance since it was first established.”
The two countries will improve their respective command-and-control systems, form an industrial council to look into building weapons together, network their missile defense systems with Australia and start a joint exercise with the UK, among other agreements. Biden and Kishida are also set to hold an unprecedented trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday.
The joint statement released by Biden and Kishida on Wednesday included strongly worded criticisms of China. They called China’s actions in the South China Sea “dangerous and escalatory,” and opposed actions that “seek to undermine Japan’s longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku islands,” referring to East China Sea islands also claimed by China.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Thursday that her nation filed diplomatic complaints in response to the statement.
“U.S.-Japan relations should not target any other countries, harm their interests, or undermine regional peace and stability,” she said.
Biden and Kishida are eager to show they’re in lockstep given they faced a series of thorny issues ahead of the summit, including plans by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to take over United States Steel Corp, and concerns over access to liquefied natural gas.
Biden kept his comments to a minimum when quizzed about Nippon Steel, saying he stood by his previously stated support for unions. Kishida told reporters he hoped the process would unfold positively.
A report that the U.S. Justice Department had opened an antitrust investigation into the deal struck a sour note just as the two leaders prepared for a state dinner attended by senior business executives from both countries.
Japan’s concerns over access to liquefied natural gas were addressed in the joint statement, though there were no specifics over future supply from the U.S.
The Biden administration’s January move to halt the approval of new licenses to export U.S. LNG while it reviews how the shipments impact climate change surprised Japan’s top importers and drew a rare show of concern from the government in Tokyo, which is heavily reliant on the fuel.
The two leaders announced joint university research into AI and said a Japanese astronaut is expected to become the first non-American ever to land on the moon as part of a future NASA mission. The pledge marks Washington’s latest move to use the space program to court friendly nations and compete with China in a race to the moon.
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