By: Elizabeth Kwan

In Tokyo, Japan, on July 28, 2024, the United States and Japanese defense leaders decided to work together to strengthen a military alliance against aggressive actions from China.

Within recent years, tensions between the US and China have been growing because of China’s developing military powers and its support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. One of the US’ responses to this is allying with Japan. The two countries met in an 80-minute long 2+2 meeting on Sunday to maintain allying roles and strengthen military force against hostile activities by China, Russia, and North Korea. Lloyd J. Austin III (US secretary of defense), Antony J. Blinken (US secretary of state), Yoko Kamikawa (Japanese foreign minister), and Minoru Kihara (Japanese defense minister) plan to initiate a joint force headquarters and increase missile production.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s support of the invasion, and North Korea’s frequent missile firings are threatening actions that the US and Japan are paying attention to.

The 2+2 meeting discussed/facilitated/reached a consensus on a goal to mitigate the military impact on local Japanese communities, recognizing the US’ advancement to boosting their alliances’ roles and missions, and acknowledging changing security levels across key countries.

Triggers of the US-Japan meeting are from China’s aggressive military upgrades and the country’s attempts to “unilaterally change the status quo [of the East China Sea] by force or coercion,” says the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. China has been sending its coast guards into the oceans to challenge neighboring territories. About a month ago, China invaded the Filipino navy and attacked them with weapons. Beijing reasoned the attacks were to prevent illegal supply transportation.

Russia’s air attacks and North Korea’s constant military usage are other activities that the US and Japan have been monitoring. Thus, Blinken, Austin, Kamikawa, and Kihara arranged further 2+2 dialogues for continued weapon collaboration, with the exact date to be decided.