MANILA, PHILIPPINES – March 28: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses (L) along with Chief of Philippine Army Secretary Romeo Broner Jr. will inspect Honorary Guards during a visit at Camp Aguinaldo on March 28, 2025 in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses is in the Philippines and focuses on strengthening security cooperation and addressing concerns in the South China Sea. (Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)
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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses said on Sunday that Japan is essential to tackling China’s invasion, and plans to upgrade U.S. military commands across the country will be underway.
“We share the warrior spirit that defines the military,” Hegses told Defense Minister Nakatani at a meeting in Tokyo. “Japan is an essential partner in deterring communist Chinese military attacks,” he said, including the entire Taiwan Strait.
He called Japan the “cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific,” and said President Donald Trump’s government will continue to work closely with its major Asian allies.
In July, then-President Joe Biden’s White House announced a major revamp of the US military headquarters in Japan to deepen coordination with the Tokyo Army.
The change will place an integrated operational commander in Japan, which corresponds to the head of the joint operational command set up by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces last week.
Japanese military
Hegses’ praise for Japan is in contrast to the criticism levelled by European allies in February, saying that the US presence there should not be assumed to last forever. Trump complained that the bilateral defense treaty that Washington promises to defend Tokyo is not mutual. In his first term, he said Japan should pay more to host the US military.
In Japan, 50,000 US military personnel, a squadron of fighter jets and Washington’s only advanced aircraft carrier are holding strike groups of aircraft airlines along the 1,900-mile (3,000-km) East Asian archipelago, which are hemmed by Chinese military power.
This is to double military spending, including money to buy long-range missiles. However, the scope of its forces is constrained by the constitution of the US author, adopted after the defeat of World War II, and waives its right to war.
Tokyo, Japan – March 30: Japan’s Defence Minister Left General, Left, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses will review Honorary Guards at a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense held in Japan in Tokyo on March 30, 2025. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses is attending the joint Japan-US commemoration ceremony (rock) of the Japan-US joint commemoration ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and is visiting Japan to discuss strengthening bilateral security cooperation. (Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Pool -Getty Images)
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Hegseth and Nakatani have agreed to accelerate plans to jointly produce Amraam missiles in the air beyond visual distance and to consider cooperation on the production of SM-6 surface-to-air defense missiles, Nakatani said.
Hegus said he sought greater access to Japan’s strategic Southwestern Islands along the contested edge of the East China Sea near Taiwan.
China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Signal chat
Hegses traveled to Japan from the Philippines on his first official visit to Asia. On Saturday, he attended the Iwo Jima service ceremony, a site of fierce battles between us and the Japanese troops 80 years ago.
His trip is a signal messaging app group that includes Atlantic magazine editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, and text covers details of the imminent US strike in Yemen.
Hegseth did not respond to a screaming question on Sunday about whether he posted any information classified as a group.
Gabbard told Congress on Tuesday that the Secretary of Defense will be the one to decide what defense information is classified.
