U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby exchanged views on the regional security environment with Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi in Tokyo on Wednesday.U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby exchanged views on the regional security environment with Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi in Tokyo on Wednesday. |A top Pentagon official discussed strengthening the U.S.-Japan military alliance with a Japanese counterpart in Tokyo as Washington continues to put pressure on its allies in Asia to ramp up defense spending and ease the burden on the American military.
U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby exchanged views on the regional security environment with Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
“They concurred on the critical role both countries play to reinforce the Japan-U.S. Alliance capabilities to deter and respond,” the ministry said.
Colby’s visit comes a few days after the release of a new U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS) that directs the Defense Department to “maintain a favorable balance of military power in the Indo-Pacific” while prioritizing threats posed by migration and narcotics in the Western Hemisphere.
The focus in Asia is on what’s referred to as the first-island chain, stretching from the Japanese archipelago, through Taiwan and into the Philippines. To deter China from aggression, including any attempt to seize Taiwan, the NDS says U.S. allies need to shoulder more of the burden.
Japan has for decades leaned heavily on its alliance with the U.S. for security, but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently brought forward a goal to spend 2% of gross domestic product on defense by two years to this fiscal year. She has also set in motion discussions about a new spending plan.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for allies to spend a total of 5% of their GDP on defense, a goal adopted by NATO members. “We will advocate that our allies and partners meet this standard around the world, not just in Europe,” the NDS says.
