The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed.
The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan.
The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow.
The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, Miyako Island and Ishigaki Island, as well as Batan Island in the Philippines, it said.
Meanwhile, Japan is planning to deploy Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectiles (HVGP) for “island defense” in Kyushu and Hokkaido islands, while the Philippines intends to station BrahMos anti-ship missiles in western Luzon and Palawan province.
“These stated military deployments have greatly enhanced a key maritime denial capability of the US and its allies in the first island chain,” the report says.
The report provides a map illustrating the locations of these military deployments, showing that the range for HVGPs could reach 900km.
The NMESIS and BrahMos anti-ship missile systems have a range of approximately 290km, covering a large part of the waters surrounding the first island chain, the report says.
To further defend the first island chain, the US has also partnered with other allies, including Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, the report says.
The US’ latest National Security Strategy report issued on Dec. 4 positions the Asia-Pacific region as the focal theater for US global competition, the report says.
The US strategy also identifies three core priorities: maintaining the openness of critical sea lanes, strengthening US forward deployments in the Indo-Pacific region, and sharing defense responsibilities with allies, it says.
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said in a testimony before the US Senate Committee on Armed Services on Dec. 7 that China’s expanding fighter force and missile systems significantly complicate US air operations, making denial defense a strategic reality within the first island chain, the report says.
As Paparo said, the US urges allies to jointly enhance defense capabilities to deter the threat from China, the report says.
The US and 18 other countries — along with NATO, the EU and the G7 — have reiterated multiple times this year the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the report says.
The EU and Germany said in August and October respectively that the Taiwan Strait is subject to the UN Charter principle prohibiting the use of force.
Both call for China to jointly maintain world peace as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the report says.
Support for Taiwan continues to rise as the status of the Taiwan Strait is key to the safety of the Indo-Pacific region and the international community, it adds.
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