THE United States could potentially stop expanding the presence of its forces in Japan as part of efforts to curb the defence spending, reports said.
If the US decides to move ahead with removing forces from Japan, it could have serious ramifications for Tokyo, especially with two hostile neighbours, including China and North Korea.
Reports suggest that the planned move could help the US save around US$1 billion of its annual defence spending.
The halt is one of the options under consideration by the Trump administration to downsize the federal government and reorganise the military’s combatant commands and headquarters.
Under the administration of Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, the US and Japan agreed to improve the command functions of the US forces in Japan to help the allies better coordinate and respond to contingencies.
Additionally, the US government under Trump is also considering merging the US European Command and the US Africa Command into a single unified structure based in Stuttgart, Germany.
Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a joint statement saying they are “very concerned” about the Pentagon’s reported plans.
“We support continuing America’s leadership abroad. As such, we will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous inter-agency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff, and collaboration with Congress,” the chairmen said.
“Such moves risk undermining American deterrence around the globe and detracting from our negotiating positions with America’s adversaries,” they said.
