The United States and Japan have reached an agreement to establish a Japanese facility for the joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the initiative on Wednesday night in Cebu, Philippines, following a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The new facility will serve as a final assembly and inspection plant for the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), which are crucial for F-35 fighter jets. This joint effort, named "Operation Supercharge," aims to enhance the defense capabilities of both nations. The U.S.-made F-35s, considered among the world's most advanced aircraft, are also utilized by the Japanese military.
The announcement came on the sidelines of the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) and 13th ADMM-Plus Meetings. These annual gatherings are designed to avert major regional conflicts and strengthen defense cooperation among participating nations.
During his brief meeting with Secretary Hegseth in Cebu, Koizumi conveyed that he "shared a sense of crisis… regarding the increasingly severe regional situation and we agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance with greater speed and intensity than ever before." He added, "We reaffirmed the importance of a free and open international order based on the rule of law, which rejects any attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo through the use of force, coercion or other means."
Koizumi also raised concerns on Thursday about China's escalating naval activity in southwestern Japan. He reported that three Chinese destroyers and a coast guard ship had crossed the Osumi Strait, south of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu, and proceeded eastward into the Pacific Ocean earlier this week. This marked the first instance his ministry had observed such a fleet configuration. Koizumi cited this incident as "an example illustrating the challenging security environment in the region" during a session on Thursday, affirming that Japan's ministry would continue to monitor Chinese activity with high interest. Japan has been accelerating its military buildup in southwestern Japan as a deterrent against China.
Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth met with ASEAN defense ministers, led by host Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., on Wednesday. Hegseth reiterated the Trump administration's commitment to deterring aggression in the region. While he did not explicitly name China, he expressed security concerns, describing the U.S. approach as "strong, quiet and clear." He elaborated, "Strong enough to deter coercion and aggression, quiet enough to avoid needless escalation or public theatrics to let our actions speak for themselves." Hegseth emphasized that his message is "clear enough that our friends, our partners and potential adversaries understand precisely where the United States stands and that we will defend our interests and the interests of our allies and partners."
Hegseth assured the Philippines, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia, that the Trump administration would build a robust deterrence against China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims nearly the entire busy waterway, a vital global trade route.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, who also participated in a Quadrilateral Meeting with his counterparts from the Philippines, Japan, and the U.S., stated that Australia's forces, alongside allies like the U.S., would continue efforts to defend the rule of law despite China's growing assertiveness, including in the South China Sea. Marles recalled that Australia protested last year after a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft released flares and passed within 30 meters (100 feet) of an Australian P-8 Poseidon surveillance jet over the disputed waters. "That doesn't deter us from doing what we need to do and that's essentially asserting the rules-based order here in the end of the Pacific," Marles told The Associated Press in Cebu on Wednesday. He added, "Freedom of navigation on the high seas is profoundly important for Australia."
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, all ASEAN member states, along with Taiwan, also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea. Confrontations have particularly escalated between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and navy vessels in disputed shoals and outlying waters. Washington has warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships, and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.
Beyond the South China Sea, Beijing and Tokyo maintain a separate dispute over tiny Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, with both sides frequently accusing the other of infringing on their maritime territory.
