US-Japan Defense Ministers Meeting... "Strengthening US Military-Japan Self-Defense Forces Coordination"

US and Japan Agree on Cooperation for Joint Missile Development and Production

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru met on the 2nd and confirmed their intention to facilitate coordination between U.S. forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces, NHK and Kyodo News reported.

According to the reports, Secretary Austin and Defense Minister Kihara held a meeting for about 30 minutes in Singapore, where the 21st Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) was held.

Lloyd Austin, U.S. Secretary of Defense, attending the 21st Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue), is heading to the meeting room at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on the 2nd (local time) for a trilateral defense ministers' meeting with Shin Won-sik, Minister of National Defense, and Kihara Minoru, Japanese Minister of Defense.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

During the meeting, they agreed to work on enhancing command and control coordination between U.S. forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces, as well as strengthening defense industry cooperation, based on the agreement reached at the summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in April.

At that summit, numerous defense cooperation measures were agreed upon, including joint missile development and production, joint maintenance of U.S. Navy vessels and Air Force aircraft, and joint development of jet trainers.

Secretary Austin and Defense Minister Kihara also shared the importance of cooperation within the Nansei region, including Okinawa, in light of China's expanding maritime presence, and reaffirmed their intention to promote cooperation with allied countries to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific, NHK reported.