WASHINGTON, April 10 — The US is planning to strengthen military cooperation with Japan and modernise its armed forces stationed in the Asian country, reported dpa.
“We’ll be announcing tomorrow our commitment to modernising our alliance partner posture,” said a US government official on Wednesday, adding that these are the biggest adjustments since the 1960s. “I do expect it will take a period of months for the details of those changes to be worked through.”
US President Joe Biden is set to receive Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for talks at the White House later on Wednesday.
The US has stationed military personnel in the country for decades to support Japan’s self-defence forces. During the state visit, Kishida and Biden are also looking to discuss potential cooperation between Japan and the Indo-Pacific security alliance AUKUS involving the US, the UK and Australia.
The aim of the trilateral alliance is to strengthen security and military deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, where China is also trying to expand its influence.
Cooperation with Japan would primarily concern the so-called second pillar of the alliance. This involves, for example, facilitating the exchange of militarily useful technologies.
