PREVIEW - US, Japan Set To Hold 2+2 Security Talks In Washington Ahead Of Kishida Visit

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th January, 2023) Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada will meet with their US counterparts for security talks on Wednesday and Thursday on a range of topics, including countering challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

The talks come ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's White House visit on Friday - his first since taking office in October.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are set to host the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee meeting. The US and Japanese officials will discuss modernizing the security alliance and tackling existing challenges in the Indo-Pacific and around the world, according to the Pentagon.

The secretaries and ministers will then participate in a joint press conference on the outcomes of the ministerial meeting at 5:00 p.m. EST (10:00 p.m. GMT), the State Department announced.

On Thursday, Austin and Hamada will hold a bilateral meeting on bolstering integrated deterrence and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region in collaboration with like-minded partners, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said last week.

Earlier this week, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported that Tokyo and Washington are planning to include the protection of key Japanese satellites to Article 5 of the bilateral security treaty as well as a new provision that obliges the United States to defend Japanese territory in case of attack.

The officials are also expected to discuss issues pertaining to military cooperation based on the two countries' security strategies, the expansion of the joint use of infrastructure facilities and the development of plans for retaliatory strikes against enemy bases, the report added.

The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the ministerial meeting will focus on enhancing Japan's defense capabilities that were outlined in three key defense documents approved by the government on December 16. As part of this new strategy, Japan plans to buy hundreds of US-made Tomahawk missiles capable of reaching potential targets in China, several media outlets reported in recent weeks citing officials in both governments.

The US and Japanese officials will also discuss advance defense cooperation in outer space and cyberspace, the report said.

The agreements and issues that are expected to be discussed at the meeting of the four ministers will then be reflected in the final documents of the bilateral summit of President Joe Biden and Kishida at the end of the week.

Kishida's visit to Washington is reportedly the last stop on his itinerary after holding meetings with the leaders of Japan's other Group of Seven (G7) partners, including the leaders of France, Italy, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The visit of the Japanese delegation to Washington also comes amid growing tensions over North Korea's missile program.

On January 1, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused the United States of creating an "Asian version of NATO" under the pretext of strengthening cooperation with Japan and South Korea. The statement came as North Korea test-fired its first short-range ballistic missile in 2023 by launching it toward the Sea of Japan.