Hegseth announces a plan for US team upgrade in Japan to restrain China

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegset On Sunday, he announced a plan to modernize US military command in Japan, the country he called as necessary in the fight against Chinese aggression.

“We share this warrior, which defines our forces,” said the Japanese Defense Minister of the Japanese General Tokyo, adding that Japan is “our indispensable partner” in “holding back the Communist Chinese military aggression”, including through Taiwan Strait.

Hegset said Japan is a “cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region” and that Trump’s administration will continue to cooperate closely with the Asian country.

HEGSET says we raise ties with the Philippines as deterrence against China: “Peace through force”

Pete HeGSET, US Secretary of Defense, and General Nakatani, Japanese Defense Minister, shaking his hand, glancing for photos before meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Reuters)

Last year, the administration of the then President Joe Biden announced a serious restructuring of the US military command in Japan to deepen the country’s forces because the two union countries called China a “biggest strategic problem”.

The change will change the combined operational commander in Japan, who will become a colleague of the head of the joint command created last week by the self -defense forces.

The high praise of Hegegset for Japan contrasts with his criticism of European allies in February, telling them that they do not believe that the US presence in the region will last forever.

Pete HeGSET, US Secretary of Defense, and General Nakatani, Japanese Defense Minister, meet at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Reuters)

US president Donald Trump He complained that a bilateral defense agreement in which the US government promises to defend Japan is not mutually. In his first term, Trump said Japan should unravel more money to accept US troops.

Japan accepts 50,000 US troops, fighter squadrons and the only US airline, which is superior to the airline, along the 1900 millions of the East Asian archipelago subject to Chinese military power.

This happens when Japan doubles military expenses, including higher -level missiles. But the operational sphere of his forces is limited to his managed US Constitution, after defeat in the Second World War, which refuses the right to the beginning of the war.

Reporters say they found waltz, Gabard, private information Hegseth on the Internet

Pete HeGSET, US Secretary of Defense, and General Nakatani, Japanese Defense Minister, visit a joint press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (Reuters)

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Hegseth and Nakatani agreed to accelerate the joint air-air missile production plan due to the visual range and consider joint work on the production of SM-6 missiles to support the ammunition deficit, said the nakatani.

Pentagon chief said he asked for more access to Strategic South -Western Japanese IslandsAlong the edge of the disputed Eastern Chinese Sea near Taiwan.

In his first official visit to Asia, Hegset went to Japan from the Philippines.

On Saturday, he visited a funeral service on Iwo Jima, at the battlefield between the US and the Japanese troops 80 years ago.

Reuters contributed to this report.