Pacific Perspective:White House Document Outlines Deepening US/Japan Strategic Alliance

In a document dated 10 April 2024,and called "United States-Japan Joint Leaders' Statement - Global Partners for the Future",the two countries outline a number of decisions that have been made recently:Over the course of the last three years,the U.S.-Japan Alliance has reached unprecedented heights.We arrived at this historic moment because our nations,individually and together,took courageous steps to strengthen our collective capacity in ways that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.Today,we,President Joseph R. Biden,Jr.,and Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio,celebrate this new era of U.S.-Japan strategic cooperation during the Prime Minister's official visit and State Dinner in Washington,D.C.-and pledge that the United States and Japan will continue our tireless work,together with our other partners,to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific and world.In this era of U.S.-Japan cooperation,we recognise that global events affect the security and the stability of the Indo-Pacific,and that developments in our shared region reverberate around the world.We are therefore working together,across all domains,to build a global partnership that is fit to address the complex,interconnected challenges of today and tomorrow for the benefit of our two countries and the world.At the core of our cooperation is a shared commitment to work with like-minded partners and multilateral institutions to address common challenges and to ensure a world that is free,open,connected,resilient,and secure.These joint efforts are based on our shared fundamental respect for international law,including the protection and promotion of human rights and dignity,the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states,and the prohibition on acquisition of territory by force.Our purpose as partners is to uphold and bolster the free and open international order based on the rule of law that has allowed so many nations to develop and prosper,and to ensure our Alliance is equipped to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.*To advance our global partnership,today we announce several new strategic initiatives to strengthen our defence and security cooperation;reach new frontiers in space;drive technology innovations;bolster economic security;accelerate climate action;partner on global diplomacy and development;and fortify the ties between our peoples.Through our partnership,we are also synchronising our strategies,and our two nations have never been more united as we work together to address the most pressing challenges and opportuniities of the future.*The core of our global partnership is our bilateral defence and security cooperation under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security,which is stronger than ever.We affirm that our Alliance remains the cornerstone of peace,security,and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.President Biden reiterated the unwavering commitment of the United States to the defence of Japan under Article V of the Treaty,using the full range of capabilities,including nuclear capabilities.Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed Japan's unwavering commitment to fundamentally reinforce its own defence capabilities and roles,and to enhance its close coordination with the United States under the Treaty.President Biden also affirmed that Article V also applies to the Senkaku Islands.We reiterated our strong opposition to any attempts by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to unilaterally change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea,including through actions that seek to undermine Japan's longstanding and peaceful administration of the Senkaku Islands.We welcome the progress in optimising Alliance force posture in areas including the Southwestern Islands to stregthen U.S.-Japan deterrence and response capabilities,and we confirm the importance of further advancing this initiative.*The United States welcomes the steps Japan is taking to fundamentally enhance its defence capabilities,its decision to possess counterstrike capabilities,and its plan to stand up the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) Joint Operations Command to enhance command and control of the JSDF.*Today,we announce several new strategic initiatives to further advance our Alliance.Recognising the speed at which regional security challenges evolve and to ensure our bilateral Alliance structures meet these critical changes,we announce our intention to to bilaterally upgrade our respective command and control frameworks to enable seamless integration of operations and capabilities and allow for greater interoperability between U.S. and Japanese forces in peace or contingencies...In support of this vision,we also reaffirm our goal to deepen Intelligence,Surveillance and Reconnaissance cooperation and Alliance information sharing capabilities,including through the Bilateral Information Analysis Cell.We will also continue to implement efforts to streghen our Alliance force posture,build high-end base capabilities,and increase preparedness that are necessary to deter and defend against threats.We resolve to deepen bilateral cooperation toward the effective development and employment of Japan's counterstrike capabilities,including the provision of U.S. matteriel and technological support to enhance Japan's indigenous stand-off programs.The United States expressed its commitment to start the training pipeline and ship modules for Japan to acquire operational capability of the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) system.We also reaffirmed the pursuit of a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) cooperative development programme to counter high-end,regional hypersonic threats.