WASHINGTON — The U.S. will respond with military force if allies in the Pacific region, especially Japan, are threatened, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said Tuesday in response to questions about Japan’s dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands.
Japan and China both claim ownership of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, located east of China and south of Japan. U.S. officials have been on Japan’s side, stating that Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Defense treaty created in 1951 lists the territory under Japan’s control.
During his talk at the Council on Foreign Relations, Work discussed defense strategies toward the Asia-Pacific region.
“While the Senkakus are under Japanese control, Article 5 applies, and we would respond if there was an attempt to take the Senkakus,” Work said. He later added, “We would definitely respond militarily to certainly any engagements against our allies.”
The Pentagon official called Japan the “cornerstone of our alliances in Asia.”
In 1997 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and U.S. Defense Department created defense guidelines on how the countries would cooperate in times of conflict. Japanese and U.S. officials announced last year that they would revise the guidelines to close any “gaps” in collaboration.
U.S. forces have recently poured into Japan as the country attempts to expand military power. Work said by 2020, the Navy and the Air Force will have 60 percent of its forces stationed in the Asia-Pacific region, a total of 100,000 soldiers, and that the department will continue to expand its reach regardless of the defense budget.
“That is what makes us the only true global power,” he said.
Work and others said Japan’s concerns about the potential for conflicts with China and North Korea have caused a shift in Japan’s military policy. While the country remains officially pacifist, U.S. Marines have begun training Japanese soldiers to broaden the country’s military capacity.
The U.S. military is stationing more weaponry, such as ballistic missile defense ships, maritime patrol aircrafts and missile defense radar. The replacement facility in Okinawa is moving forward, Work said, making it the first military base in the country since World War II. U.S. Marines also have an Air Station located in Iwakuni.
Dov Zakheim, former under secretary of defense, said he thought Work was “overly optimistic” about its Asia-Pacific reach, citing budget limitations. But Zakheim said the U.S. strongly benefits from keeping close ties to Japan.
“They can go nuclear,” Zakheim said. “They can do it in a matter of months.”
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