Strengthening Alliance With Japan Is Critical for Biden’s Indo-Pacific Strategy
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By Mathew Ha
January 29, 2021
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Anthony Blinken, President Biden’s nominee for Secretary of State, called for Washington “to start approaching China from a position of strength, not weakness.†Kurt Campbell, Biden’s Indo-Pacific affairs coordinator at the National Security Council, added that “a conscious effort to deter Chinese adventurism†will require U.S. support of and coordination with allies such as Japan. To that end, Washington should upgrade its defense cooperation with Tokyo in a manner that adapts to Beijing’s evolving military strategies and capabilities, in particular by deterring first strikes and enhancing U.S.-Japan interoperability.
The Defense Department’s 2019 Indo-Pacific Strategy Report appropriately called the U.S.-Japan alliance “the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.†Japan continues to host 54,250 U.S. troops who benefit from its critical geographic position within the first island chain between the U.S. and China. This location minimizes the time needed for the U.S. to deploy forces in response to potential conflicts throughout the Indo-Pacific.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2021/01/29/strengthening_alliance_with_japan_is_critical_for_bidens_indo-pacific_strategy_658397.html
