Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2025 June 4 - 10 [POLITICS]

Will Japan give hand to US attempt to weaken ASEAN and to reinforce anti-China bloc

The Shangri-la Dialogue, a security conference of defense ministers and senior military officials from across Asia, took place in Singapore from May 30 to June 1, bringing to light the framework of the 2nd Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The U.S. has demanded that its allies and partners increase their military spending and is aiming to incorporate ASEAN into its “anti-China” military network.

US wants its Asian allies to boost military spending

Speaking at the conference on May 31, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth emphasized, “The threat China poses is real,” by saying that “China will be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027.” He went on to say, “NATO members are pledging to spend 5% of their GDP on defense,” adding, “So it doesn’t make sense for countries in Europe to do that while key allies in Asia spend less on defense in the face of an even more formidable threat.” Hegseth called on Asian allies and partners, particularly with regard to Japan, Australia, and South Korea, to substantially boost their defense spending.

Meanwhile, Hegseth said that NATO members “should maximize their comparative advantage on the (European) continent” with Russia in mind. He rejected NATO’s Indo-Pacific strategy which had been promoted by the former Biden administration. This means that the United States will place greater responsibility on its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China.

In addition, Hegseth said that his first trip to the Indo-Pacific after taking office was to the Philippines, and that the United States “deployed” NMESIS, a state-of-the-art unmanned antiship missile system, to the Philippines. He mentioned that the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, whose primary mission is to conduct operations off the coast of China, has familiarized itself with NMESIS along with Philippine Marines. He stressed that the U.S. involvement in the Indo-Pacific region is increasing.

The Philippines, along with Japan’s Nansei (Southwest) Islands, which include Okinawa and Amami, sits on the first island chain, the front line of tensions between the U.S. and China. Japan has already established an antiship missile network on the Nansei Islands. It is obvious that the U.S. aims to further enhance the China-focused defense alliance by encouraging the Philippines to participate in this framework.

US seeks to form quadripartite defense cooperation with Philippines, Japan, and Australia

Japan acts faithfully in accordance with U.S. military strategy. The U.S. expressed its dissatisfaction with the former Kishida government’s decision to double military spending to 2% of GDP, and demanded that Japan spend over 3% of GDP on defense. The Ishiba government has hinted at the possibility of accepting this demand.

The Japanese government has played a part in the U.S. attempt to include the Philippines in the U.S.-led military bloc. This is shown by the fact that Japan’s Defense Minister Nakatani Gen and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru visited the Philippines in February and April, respectively. In addition, at a meeting of defense ministers from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States which took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Nakatani talked about Japan’s plan to provide military equipment to the Philippines.

Although the Philippines is a U.S. ally, it removed U.S. bases from the country in 1992. As an ASEAN member, it works to promote a regional community for peace. “Not to take the side of either the U.S. or China” is the path ASEAN walks.

Japan, as a country having the pacifist Article 9 of the Constitution, is supposed to work together with ASEAN in support of its position. It is unacceptable for Japan to act for the U.S. and contribute to weakening ASEAN and reinforcing the U.S. “encirclement” of China.