Plans for the US military in Japan to get a command upgrade are gaining momentum following comments from the US defense chief that basing a four-star commander in the country is something the Pentagon is “looking very closely at.”
Such a move would be one of the biggest upgrades to the U.S.-Japan security alliance in decades, and help strengthen operational planning and exercises between the countries as they look to build their joint response capabilities to what they say is the growing threat from China is. – especially in the event of a crisis over democratic Taiwan.
“In terms of the command and control capability … this is something we are looking at very closely,” Austin said Monday in Singapore after the conclusion of a major regional security conference where he met his Japanese and Chinese counterparts. others.
