By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
TOKYO, Oct. 3, 2013 – In a joint statement today, 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.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry sign
official documents 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, in Tokyo, Oct. 3, 2013. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. |
|
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
today that culminated in a “two-plus-two” engagement. At a news
conference following the engagement, Hagel said 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.”
Kerry and Hagel are the first U.S. secretaries of state and defense to
attend such a meeting here together. 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 during the news conference 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:
A second Army Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance system, or
AN-TPY-2, will be placed at the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force base at
Kyogamisaki, where it will augment one previously set up in Shariki on
the northern part of Honshu Island.
-- The new radar will “close
the gaps,” a U.S. official said, and will increase protection for the
United States while defending Japan against possible North Korean
missile strikes.
The “Tippy-Two,” as it’s commonly known, is an
X-band, high-resolution, phased-array radar designed specifically for
ballistic missile defense. It searches for and tracks inbound threats,
and can be integrated with the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system
and ground-based interceptors.
-- Increase bilateral cooperation
in the region on space and cyberspace; intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance; planning, use of facilities, extended deterrence,
information security, training and exercises.
-- Reinforce
trilateral and multilateral cooperation “that preserves and promotes a
peaceful, prosperous and secure Asia-Pacific region.” The statement
adds, “Our mutual cooperation is to expand over time, and we are
committed to working in partnership with other like-minded countries to
build sustainable patterns of cooperation.”
-- Implement
agreements on realignment of U.S. forces in Japan “as soon as possible
while ensuring operational capability, including training capability,
throughout the process.”
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.
-- Deploy more advanced U.S.
capabilities to Japan such as the U.S. Marines’ MV-22 Osprey aircraft,
two squadrons of which are here and will be training with Japanese
self-defense forces. Other equipment headed to Japan in the coming years
includes Navy P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, in what will be its first
deployment outside the United States; rotational deployment of Global
Hawk unmanned aircraft; and, in another first deployment outside the
United States in 2017, the F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing
joint strike fighter variant for the Marine Corps.
The four
ministers also addressed territorial disputes in the East China Sea,
where Japan and China both claim rights to the Senkaku Islands.
While U.S. policy is that sovereignty in such disputes is an issue for
the disputing nations to resolve, Hagel reiterated a statement he made
in April: since they are under the administrative control of Japan, they
fall under U.S. treaty obligations to Japan.
“We strongly oppose
any unilateral or coercive action that seeks to undermine Japan's
administrative control,” he said. “We will continue to consult
especially closely on this issue.”
Hagel closed his statement at today’s news conference with a strong endorsement of the alliance.
“The United States-Japan relationship has underwritten the peace,
stability, and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region for more than half a
century,” he said. “Today, we have helped ensure this alliance
continues to do so in the 21st century.”
The secretary also
thanked U.S. troops serving here. He will visit some of them tomorrow,
before concluding his weeklong trip that also took him to South Korea.
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