The U.S. Naval Institute News website reported on January 13 that Japanese Defense Minister Shigeyasu Kono delivered a keynote speech at the Hawaii Honolulu Defense Forum on Monday (12th), calling on "like-minded" Indo-Pacific nations to combine defense and capabilities to address potential conflicts in the region.

In his speech titled "The Role of the Defense Community in Peace and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," Kono said that partner countries, including the United States, Australia, South Korea, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, need to strengthen defense cooperation through existing frameworks to promote peace in the Indo-Pacific region.

Kono emphasized the Australia-Japan-US, Japan-South Korea-US, Australia-Japan-Philippines-US, Australia-India-Japan-US, and the "ASEAN Defense Ministers+ Initiative" as the basis for countries to "expand multi-layered interconnected networks" to enhance defense capabilities.

Japanese Defense Minister Shigeyasu Kono visited the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on January 12 and met with Admiral Samuel Paparo in Hawaii. Kono later delivered a keynote speech at the Honolulu Defense Forum.

"As [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] clearly stated — this is not just an American issue," Kono said. "We are determined to work with all like-minded countries to promote peace and prosperity in the region and the world." He mentioned the U.S.-Japan alliance and the Trump administration's "peace through strength" policy.

Kono said the Indo-Pacific region faces a crisis due to three reasons: the normalization of military coercion; the weaponization of everything, that is, economic, technological, resource, information, and cyber space; and the beginning of an era of uncertainty.

"Now, we can see tensions around the world are at the brink of war. For those of us living in democratic societies, the mindset of aggressors is hard to predict. Aggressors may also misjudge the intensity of our resolve. Anything can happen tomorrow. I believe you all feel this way. We must face this reality head-on to ensure peace and stability in the region."

Japanese Defense Minister Shigeyasu Kono delivered a keynote speech at the Honolulu Defense Forum held in Hawaii on January 12.

In his speech, Kono did not name any adversarial country, but he said that neighboring countries continue to carry out covert military expansion, and the regional military balance is changing dramatically and rapidly. There are ongoing attempts to change the status quo by force in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, while provocative military activities on the western and southern sides of the Pacific are also escalating.

His remarks described China's military and security activities in the region, including military actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, Chinese coast guard patrols around the islands controlled by Japan in the East China Sea, military exercises targeting Taiwan, and aircraft carrier strike groups operating in the southwest of Japan.

Since November last year, China has taken countermeasures against Japan because Prime Minister Satsukiya Harada stated that "Taiwan's affairs" could be considered a crisis for Japan's survival. China then sent two complaints to the United Nations, state media published articles questioning Japan's sovereignty claims over the Okinawa (Ryukyu) Islands, and tightened economic restrictions on Japan.

The latest countermeasure was China's decision on January 6 to ban the export of dual-use items, including rare earths, to Japan.

In a press conference after the speech, Kono described China's recent actions as an information warfare campaign both domestically and internationally. He claimed that the Japanese Ministry of Defense will cooperate with relevant ministries and agencies to assess the authenticity and intent of information spread by other countries by acquiring diverse information collection capabilities, and strategically and swiftly disseminate appropriate information to deal with the information warfare.

Kono said, "Cooperation with allies and like-minded countries is also important to deal with information warfare by other countries, and we plan to continue promoting information warfare cooperation."

Japanese Defense Minister urged cooperative countries to strengthen their own defense capabilities and industries, while also enhancing training, operations, and equipment to connect this new energy.

Kono said, "We will connect the independent efforts of various countries like a network, enhance interconnectivity, and generate synergistic effects. We will layer these networks throughout the region. By doing so, we will enhance the region's resilience to crises (including disasters). Even if some countries face harassment or coercion, the entire region can respond collectively."

As part of Japan's role in this regard, Japan has already increased its defense spending to 2% of GDP. In addition, after Prime Minister Satsukiya took office in October last year, she immediately instructed the revision of Japan's National Security Strategy, which is planned to be completed by 2026.

Japan is also cooperating with the United States to upgrade the bilateral command and control framework, further strengthening bilateral coordination, especially through expanding the joint military presence of the U.S. and Japan in the southwest of Japan. The two countries will also jointly produce and maintain equipment.

Kono said, "Japan is committed to promoting the development of a free and open Indo-Pacific. I will do my utmost to ensure peace and prosperity in the region from a defense perspective."

Honolulu was the first stop of Kono's visit to the United States. Kono visited Los Angeles, California on Tuesday, met with local defense companies, and will attend a reception celebrating the 15th anniversary of the "Operation Allied Force." This operation was the U.S. response to the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Kono will arrive in Washington on Wednesday. He plans to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth on Thursday and hold a U.S.-Japan Defense Ministers Meeting.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595059596503417353/

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