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Recent Defense Ministerial Teleconferences
On December 15, Minister Kishi, together with German Federal Minister of Defence, Kramp-Karrenbauer, attended a virtual forum “Indo-Pacific: Japan and Germany’s Engagement in the Region,” co-hosted by NIDS and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). Both ministers delivered keynote speeches and exchanged views on regional security environment including North Korea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea as well as the bilateral defense cooperation. Minister Kishi expressed high expectation for the enhanced presence of Germany in the Indo-Pacific region based on the announcement of the German “Policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region”. Both Ministers confirmed to work closely together toward the Indo-Pacific deployment of German Navy vessel which is currently being planned.
On the same day, Minister Kishi held a video teleconference with Minister of Defense of the Federative Republic of Brazil, H.E. Mr. Fernando Azevedo e SILVA, followed by the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum on Defense Cooperation and Exchanges. They exchanged views on defense cooperation and exchanges and agreed to further develop cooperation in the field of humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HA/DR). In this context, both Ministers also concurred in proactively promoting defense cooperation and exchanges based on the signed Memorandum, while maintaining close communication between the defense authorities.
On December 22, Minister Kishi held a telephone conversation with Defence Minister of India, H.E. Rajnath Singh. The two ministers confirmed the recent achievements including the signing of Japan-India ACSA in September and the successful completion of the naval exercise “Malabar” held by Japan, the United States, India and Australia in November, welcoming the fact that bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation and exchanges have been promoted despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The two ministers also exchanged views on regional situations, including the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and reaffirmed their continued close cooperation.
On January 14, Minister Kishi held a teleconference with Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Ben Wallace. The both ministers affirmed to continue exchanging views regarding the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea in light of the current events occurred in the region and concurred in sending a clear message that they strongly oppose any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by coercion or any activities that escalate tension, and that a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law is important. The two Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to closely coordinating toward the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges, and Minister Kishi expressed that he highly valued the UK’s continuous commitment to monitoring the illicit maritime activities in contravention of the United Nations Security Council resolutions including the “ship-to-ship” transfer by North Korea. Minister Kishi greatly welcomed and highly evaluated the announcement made by Prime Minister Johnson in November 2020 to deploy a carrier strike group including the UK carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to the region including East Asia this year as the UK commitment to the region, and Minister Kishi stated his intention to closely work with the UK to realize the deployment to the region.
On January 15, Minister Kishi held a teleconference with the Hon. Florence Parly, Minister for the Armed Forces of France. The Ministers affirmed to continue exchanging views regarding the regional issues including the East and the South China Sea in light of the current events occurring in the region and concurred to send a clear message that they strongly oppose any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by coercion or any activities that escalate tension, highlighting the importance of a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law. Regarding North Korea, Minister Kishi expressed that he highly valued France’s continuous commitment in the face of COVID-19 difficulties to engaging in monitoring and surveillance activities against the ongoing illicit maritime activities including North Korea’s illegal ship-to-ship transfers. The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to closely coordinating toward the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges.
Japan-U.S. Defense Ministerial Telephone Conference
On January 24, Minister Kishi and Defense Secretary Austin held a telephone conference. The summary is as follows.
The Ministers affirmed that the robust ties of the Japan-U.S. Alliance remains unwavering even with the change of administration in the United States and response to COVID-19, and that the Alliance is prepared to address any situation/contingency in the region. The Ministers confirmed that they will work together to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. Alliance to continuously address the security challenges in the region and in the international community.
The Ministers affirmed their position that they oppose to unilateral attempts to change the status quo by coercion in the East and South China Seas, and that it is important to work together to maintain and strengthen the free and open maritime order based on the rule of law including the freedom of navigation and overflight. The Ministers reconfirmed that Article V of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands and that both nations oppose to any unilateral action that seeks to undermine Japan’s administration on these islands. The Ministers also concurred that they will cooperate to further strengthen the Alliance capabilities to deter and respond. In regard to nuclear and missile issues of North Korea, the Ministers affirmed that the two nations will work together for a complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of all North Korea’s WMD and ballistic missiles of all ranges. The Ministers also agreed that Japan and the United States will continue working together with partner countries to counter illicit ship-to-ship transfers of goods by North Korea. The Ministers concurred that they will strengthen cooperation with various partners both in and out of the region through measures to maintain and strengthen a Free and Open Indo-Pacific with the Japan-U.S. Alliance being the cornerstone.
The Ministers affirmed the importance of operational readiness of the U.S. Forces in Japan as the security environment surrounding Japan becomes increasingly severe, and agreed that it is essential to gain understanding and cooperation regarding the operations of the U.S. Forces in Japan from the local communities. The Ministers agreed to continue to closely work together to steadily advance the realignment of U.S. Forces in Japan. The Ministers reconfirmed that the relocation to Henoko-saki is the only solution to avoid the continued use of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma. Minister Kishi requested for cooperation in the efforts to mitigate the impact on the local communities including Okinawa.
The Ministers agreed to meet in person at the earliest timing possible, taking into account the situation of COVID-19, and Secretary Austin expressed his willingness to visit Japan at an early stage.
General Izutsu, Chief of Staff, JASDF Visits India
From December 9 to 11, General IZUTSU, Chief of Staff, Koku-Jieitai (JASDF), visited India on the invitation of his counterpart, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force. General Izutsu held talks with senior defense officials including Mr. Rajnath Singh, Minister for Defence, General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff, and Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. He also visited an Indian Air Force unit.
In his talks with Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria and General Izutsu agreed to keep expanding and deepening defense cooperation and exchanges to strengthen the relationship between the two air forces of Japan and India even in the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This latest visit to India enhanced the mutual understanding and the relationship of trust with the Indian Air Force and contributed to the promotion of defense cooperation and exchanges with India.
The JASDF has engaged in various types of defense cooperation and exchanges, including high-level exchanges and the Japan-India Bilateral Trainings “SHINYUU-MAITRI,” which aimed to enhance bilateral air transport capabilities.
The MOD/JSDF will continue strengthening service-to-service relationships through such high level visits and bilateral trainings.
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