|
 - - continued -
|
The U.S. forces stationed or deployed in Japan signal our national commitment to the security alliance to defend Japan and preserve peace and security in the Far East region. To this end, USFJ conducts two primary exercises with the Japan Defense Agency and the JSDF. These exercises alternate every year between the computer-assisted command post exercise KEEN EDGE and the field training exercise KEEN SWORD. Both exercises develop bilateral and multiservice operational techniques, tactics and procedures for both a defense of Japan scenario and Japanese support for U.S. forces activities in a regional contingency scenario.
|
|
|
U.S. Air Force F-16 “Wild Weasels” from Misawa Air Base, Japan, fly a mock suppression of enemy air defenses exercise.
Official U.S. Air Force Photo
|
KEEN EDGE. With the passage of implementing legislation by Japan’s Diet in May 1999, KEEN EDGE 00 provided the first opportunity to exercise new areas of cooperation permitted by the revised Guidelines. Training involved 5,000 Japanese personnel and 1,350 Americans. It included Japanese rear-area support for U.S. forces and practice of noncombatant evacuation operations of Japanese citizens abroad.
KEEN SWORD. KEEN SWORD 01 included search and rescue and disaster-relief training. With over 20 aircraft participating, servicemen and women from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, along with JASDF and JMSDF, conducted the largest search and rescue exercise ever held in Japan. A mass-casualty disaster-relief exercise provided necessary training for response to emergencies such as earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons and potential man-made disasters. This training increases both countries’ ability to provide disaster relief and peacetime search and rescue – both domestically and internationally.
Relevance of the U.S.-Japan Security Relationship
The security relationship between the U.S. and Japan is as strong as it has ever been, and this relationship continues to be an important force for stability in Asia.
Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
The U.S.-Japan alliance is every bit as significant today as it was during the Cold War. Its stabilizing influence remains as vital as ever. Even with the collapse of the Soviet Union, East Asia remains a dangerous place. The region is home to some of the largest and most modern armies in the world. There are unresolved conflicts in China and Korea, religious and ethnic turmoil in Indonesia and the Philippines, and several ongoing Northeast Asia territorial disputes.
Although I am encouraged by last summer’s historic summit between Republic of Korea President Kim Dae Jung and North Korean Secretary Kim Jong Il, North Korea continues to dedicate a large portion of its scarce resources to its huge military forces. Reducing our capabilities in anticipation of an end to the North Korean threat would undermine deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.
|
|
|
Lt. j.g. Taro Terashima of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force plots the position of the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) with U.S. Navy AWS3 Kraig Navruska during exercise ANNUALEX off the coast of Japan.
Photo by PHAA Justin Proulx, USN
|
With regard to China, the alliance is a positive force for shaping an environment where China sees its national interests enhanced by integrating itself into the region’s security and economic framework. All these factors point to the need for continued maintenance and strengthening of the U.S.-Japan alliance as a critical element of regional stability.
The relationship benefits not only the U.S. and Japan but also the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. In the preamble to the security treaty, the United States and Japan acknowledged a common interest in the maintenance of international peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region. It is recognized throughout the region that the security alliance has played a key role in maintaining the peace and security that have enabled Asia-Pacific nations to build thriving economies for the benefit of all. Asia accounts for 25 percent of the global economy, which includes almost $600 billion in bilateral trade with the United States. Both the United States and Japan have worked to ensure that the alliance remains healthy, viable, and ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
Adapting to the Post-Cold War Security Environment
These new guidelines will revitalize our defense relationship; they will help the United States and Japan to work together even more closely in the interests of stability, peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
The United States and Japan have long recognized that we must develop and adapt our alliance to meet changes in the international security environment. The U.S.-Japan Joint Declaration on Security issued in 1996 set the agenda for addressing the need to adapt and strengthen our alliance. This led to the revision of the Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation, marking a new era in U.S.-Japan relations and regional security. It expands the 1978 Guidelines for Defense Cooperation from a narrow focus on the direct defense of Japan to cooperation in responding to regional contingencies. Like the U.S.-Japan security relationship, these new guidelines are not directed against any other country; rather, they enable the U.S.-Japan alliance to continue fostering peace and security throughout the region.
|
|
|
|
