TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Dispatches) - The U.S. and Japan set to sign a new
military collaboration pact in a bid to counter emerging threats such as hypersonics and space-based capabilities, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.
The comments from the two allies, in a joint statement that followed a virtual meeting of their foreign and defense ministers, highlight how deepening alarm about China - and growing tension over Taiwan - have put Japan’s security role in focus.
According to their statement, the ministers accused China of trying “to undermine the rules-based order”, saying it presented “political, economic, military and technological challenges to the region and the world”.
In a separate virtual summit on Thursday, Japan and Australia signed a defense cooperation agreement.
China lodged stern representations with all three countries.
“We deplore and firmly oppose the gross interference in China’s internal affairs by the U.S., Japan and Australia and the fabrication of false information to smear China and undermine the solidarity and mutual trust of countries in the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily briefing in Beijing.
Before the talks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington and Tokyo planned a new defense deal to counter emerging threats, including hypersonics and space-based capabilities.
He said the alliance “must not only strengthen the tools we have, but also develop new ones”, citing Russia’s military buildup against Ukraine, Beijing’s “provocative” actions over Taiwan and North Korea’s latest missile launch. North Korea fired a “hypersonic missile this week that successfully hit a target”, its state news agency said.
Russia, China and the United States are also racing to build hypersonic weapons, whose extreme speed and manoeuvrability make them hard to spot and block with interceptor missiles.