The US wants to disperse US Marine units throughout Japan’s Okinawa islands by 2026, arming them with missiles and lighter gear to deter China’s military, and would discuss the plan with Tokyo in Washington, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
The US has already told Japan about the reorganization, which it would announce after a two-plus-two meeting in Washington today between the Japanese ministers of defense and foreign affairs and their US counterparts, the paper reported.
A Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs official declined to comment about the report, but said Japan and the US “will discuss matters regarding issues on the US Forces Japan, including the realignment of the US Forces Japan.”
Photo: Reuters
The creation of the new units, called Marine Littoral Regiments, is part of a major reorganization of the US Marine Corps outlined by its commandant, General David Berger, in 2020.
At the time Berger said that he wanted those units to work closely with Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to prevent easy access to the Pacific for the Chinese military.
In response to a question about the possible deployment of the new units, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told a regular news conference yesterday that bilateral military cooperation between the US and Japan “should not harm the interests of third parties, and regional peace and stability.”
Under the littoral regiment concept, the US Marines are cutting aircraft numbers, and dumping most of their cannon artillery and heavy armor in favor of smaller “dispersed” forces equipped with missiles and drones that can operate in contested areas.
Japan hosts 18,000 US Marines, the biggest concentration outside the US. Most of them are in bases in Okinawa, which is part of a chain that stretches along the edge of the East China Sea to within about 100km of Taiwan.
In related news, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday pledged more security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region as Kishida made his first visit to France since taking office.
Japan holds the presidency of the G7 and Kishida on Monday began a tour of fellow members France, Italy, the UK, Canada and the US.
In a joint statement with Macron on Monday evening, the Japanese prime minister said he was looking forward to more cooperation with France in the Asia-Pacific region.
“France is a leading partner for the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kishida said.
“As unilateral attempts to change by force the status quo in the East and South China Sea intensify and the security environment becomes increasingly tense, we wish to continue to cooperate with France,” he said, alluding to joint military drills.
The Japanese government approved a major defense policy overhaul last month, including a significant spending hike, as it warned China posed the “greatest strategic challenge ever” to its security.
Macron said France and Japan would continue their “joint actions in the Indo-Pacific.”
Kishida is scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden on Friday.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
The Pentagon is preparing for US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Taiwan later this year, Punchbowl News reported on Monday, citing an official directly involved in the talks. US administration officials anticipate McCarthy would visit Taiwan some time in the spring, the report said. McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker. He was elected speaker earlier this month. He had also said that he would have liked to join then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August last year. Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei marked the first time in 25 years
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu (周婕妤) was crowned the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Champion after shutting out British pool titan Allison Fisher 9-0 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the organizers said on Sunday. Following the championship win at Harrah’s Resort and Casino Atlantic City, Chou pocketed US$30,000 and became the first female competitor to hold both the 9-ball and 10-ball world titles since Briton Kelly Fisher in 2012. Chou, 36, won the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria in September last year after clinching a silver medal at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in July. “I’m very excited and it’s like
JOINT OPERATIONS: Participating in the IMET program, which offers professional training and education to military personnel, would boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities The US government is appropriating funding to help Taiwan participate in its International Military Education & Training (IMET) program to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations of the Taiwanse and US militaries. The funding for Taiwan’s participation in the program is mentioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, a US$1.7 trillion spending bill funding the US federal government for the fiscal year 2023. It covers funding for military support for Ukraine, defense spending and regions affected by natural disasters. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that IMET is an important US
RSS