US military helping Japan counter its ‘greatest security challenge’ from China, says top commander

Name: ‘Preparing for war’: China revises military recruitment rules for the first time since 2001
Uploaded: 2023-04-20T14:00:26.000Z
Duration: 2 min 28 s
Description: ‘Preparing for war’: China revises military recruitment rules for the first time since 2001

Major General Joel Vowell, the commander of the US Army in Japan, says Tokyo has shifted its focus towards the PLA’s ability to threaten its southwest islands

Japan is worried that the Chinese military could block or seize some of the islands, including the Ryukyu chain, to deter it from intervening if Taiwan is attacked

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Joint exercises between the US and Japan have focused on the threat to the southwest islands. Photo: Handout

Jack Lau

Published: 10:00pm, 20 Apr 2023Updated: 11:21pm, 20 Apr 2023

The United States is stepping up its efforts to strengthen Japan’s defences and counter the Chinese military as it becomes increasingly assertive towards Taiwan, according to a senior American commander.

The US military has been working with its Japanese counterpart to shore up defences in the country’s southwest islands with joint military exercises targeting the activities of the People’s Liberation Army, Major General Joel Vowell, the commander of the US Army in Japan, said on Thursday.

“Focus has shifted to the real problem today and tomorrow, which is protecting the sovereignty of Japan, [with the] main effort [being] in the southwest islands,” Vowell said. “We see that, together, very clearly, very soberly as the greatest security challenge.”

Japan had shifted its defensive focus from North Korea to China because of the threat the People’s Liberation Army could pose to the islands of southwestern Japan, including the Ryukyu chain, he added.

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‘Preparing for war’: China revises military recruitment rules for the first time since 2001

Some exercises by the US military and the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force, including the annual Yama Sakura and Orient Shield drills, focus on scenarios such as an invasion or Japanese sovereignty being compromised.