Highlights
- US and Japan are going to sign a new defense cooperation agreement
- China and North Korea’s hypersonic missiles threaten America-Japan
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this agreement on Thursday
The US and Japan are going to sign a new defense cooperation agreement to deal with the growing threat from China and North Korea from hypersonic missiles and space-based weapons. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the agreement on Thursday. The foreign ministers of both the countries have talked among themselves about this five-year security agreement. The US and Japanese foreign ministers have held this conversation at a time when North Korea has claimed to have fired a hypersonic missile.
Antony Blinken said that the US-Japan alliance will not only have to strengthen the ways we have, but to find new ways. His indications include Russia’s military deployment on the Ukrainian border, China’s provocative action against Taiwan and North Korea’s hypsonic missile launch. Russia, China and America are all three countries engaged in making hypersonic missiles, which do not catch due to their high speed and ability to change direction.
Ensured more investment in the preparation of armies of both countries
Blinken said that Japan and the United States will also sign an agreement for closer cooperation in research and development of defense-related technologies, including how to counter the threat of hypersonic weapons. The agreement, based on a new formula to share the cost of US military presence in Japan, ends a dispute that was a significant bottleneck in US-Japan relations during the tenure of former President Donald Trump.
Blinken said the new agreement would ensure greater investment in the preparedness of the two armies and improve their ability to work together. Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, who is recovering from Covid-19, participated in the conference through digital medium from his home. He said that the US-Japan alliance is very important. “The meeting is taking place in the backdrop of rising tensions over a free, stable and secure Indo-Pacific region and challenges posed by North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and aggressive behavior by China,” Austin said.
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