U.S., Japan accelerate joint missile production

May 31 (Asia Today) — The United States and Japan are moving to accelerate joint missile development and production as they expand defense cooperation aimed at countering China’s military buildup.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth agreed during talks Friday on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore to speed up joint missile development and production, Japan’s Defense Ministry said. The two sides also discussed strengthening cooperation with Australia on missile defense information-sharing.

The talks reflected more than U.S. pressure on allies to shoulder greater defense costs. Washington needs a stronger forward deterrence network in the Indo-Pacific as China expands its military capabilities. Tokyo, meanwhile, is seeking a larger security role as it relaxes defense equipment export rules and revises key security documents.

Koizumi said the United States and Japan have a “very heavy mission” to further strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of their alliance. He also explained Japan’s April revisions to its defense equipment transfer rules and its plan to revise three major national security documents this year.

Hegseth welcomed Japan’s defense buildup and expanded training between the Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military. Japan’s recent revisions to defense equipment transfer rules have made it easier for Tokyo to export defense equipment, a step Hegseth said would contribute to regional deterrence and stability.

In a speech the same day, Hegseth pointed to what he called China’s historic military expansion and said the era in which the United States alone carried the defense burden for wealthy countries was over. He called for alliances based on burden-sharing rather than dependence.

China quickly responded by framing Japan’s expanding security role as a historical issue.

Meng Xiangqing, a professor at China’s National Defense University who led the Chinese delegation at the Shangri-La Dialogue, accused Japan of failing to fully eliminate the legacy of militarism. He said some forces in Japan were glorifying past war crimes and urged vigilance against what he called a revival of militarism and challenges to the post-World War II international order.

Meng also criticized debate in Japan over its pacifist Constitution and non-nuclear principles, arguing that changes to Japanese security policy could raise nuclear proliferation risks. Although he did not name the United States directly, he said hegemonism was affecting regional security.

Japan rejected China’s criticism. Koizumi said at the Shangri-La Dialogue that Japan remains committed to peace, international law and the U.N. Charter, while arguing that China’s rapid and opaque military buildup poses a greater concern for the region.

The emerging divide is clear. The United States and Japan describe missile defense cooperation as a response to China’s military expansion. China describes Japan’s growing security role as rearmament and a threat to the postwar order.

South Korea is not isolated from the shift. As Japan, the United States and Australia expand missile defense information-sharing, Seoul could face growing pressure to deepen its own participation in broader Indo-Pacific security networks.

The clash at the Shangri-La Dialogue showed that Northeast Asia’s missile defense order is being reshaped in ways that could also narrow South Korea’s room for strategic maneuver.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260531010009071