Japan, US and Europe must act together on China, says Kishida

• Fumio Kishida spoke at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
• Japan this month declared its largest military build-up since World War II.
• Biden commended Tokyo’s “historic” defense build up.

During a visit to strengthen Tokyo’s alliance with the US in the face of mounting challenges from Beijing, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated in Washington, DC, that Japan, the US, and Europe must act in unison against China.

China is the central challenge for both Japan and the US as China’s vision for the international order differs from the views of Tokyo and Washington in some ways the allies “can never accept”, Kishida said.

“It is absolutely imperative for Japan, the United States and Europe to stand united in managing our respective relationship with China,” the Japanese prime minister said in a speech on Friday at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Russia’s war against Ukraine marked the “complete end” of the post-Cold War world order and if Moscow’s use of force goes “unchallenged, it will happen elsewhere in the world, including Asia”, he said.

“The international community is at a historical turning point. The free, open and stable international order that we have dedicated ourselves to upholding is now in grave danger,” Kishida said.

“We will never allow any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force and we will reinforce our deterrence.”

In addition to China’s firing of ballistic missiles last year that fell in waters close to Japan, Kishida highlighted Japan’s concern over China’s military actions near the disputed Senkaku Islands (also known as the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese) and Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

US President Joe Biden, who met with Kishida earlier at the White House, commended Tokyo’s “historic” defense build-up and reaffirmed the US’ strong commitment to its alliance with Japan.

“Let me be crystal clear: the United States is fully, thoroughly, completely committed to the alliance and more importantly to Japan’s defense,” Biden said.

Following seven decades of peace, Japan this month declared the largest military build-up since World War II, spurred on by worries about Chinese activities in the region.

In response to concerns about regional security, especially North Korean and Chinese threats, Japan will increase its defense spending by 20 percent, or 6.8 trillion yen ($55 billion), setting a new high.

Japan is on a shopping binge and wants to purchase hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles, which are now solely in the arsenals of the US and the UK, as part of that new defense strategy.

Additionally, Japan will create for the first time a “counter-strike” capability, which entails being able to target the missiles’ launch sites.

The US and Japan agreed last week during meetings between their foreign and defense ministers that strikes in space might trigger their mutual defense treaty despite China’s brisk satellite development.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi also inked an agreement to collaborate on space exploration.

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