US, Japan and Philippines sign defense and investment deals at leaders’ summit

WASHINGTON – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revealed a wide range of similarities to improve security and economic ties at meetings held at the White House this week.

Here are some of the most notable:

MILITARY UPGRADE

Japan and the US announced plans Unpleasant upgrade their military allianceincluding the American military command in Japan and more joint development of defense equipment.

A joint statement at the summit said new military command and control frameworks would enable greater interoperability and planning in peacetime and during contingencies.

They also announced their intention to improve defense communications networks and network air defense capabilities between the US, Australia and Japan to counter air and missile threats.

The defense plans will see the two sides establish a forum to identify areas for joint development and co-production of missiles and maintenance of US warships and aircraft.

They will also establish a working group on fighter pilot training, including AI and advanced simulators, and the co-development and co-production of jet trainers.

AUKUS, SOUTH CHINA SEA

Mr Biden’s meeting with Mr Kishida focused on Japan’s possible involvement in advanced power projects of the AUKUS security pact. The US, Britain and Australia established AUKUS in 2021 to counter China’s growing influence.

A joint statement at the summit said the existing three AUKUS partners are considering cooperation with Japan as part of the plan that includes advanced capabilities and technologies in a range of areas including quantum computing, undersea, hypersonic, artificial intelligence and cyber technology.

The joint statement highlighted “escalatory behavior” by China in the South China Sea. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said this on Tuesday more joint patrols can be expected in the South China Sea following exercises by the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Japan last weekend.

MICROSOFT, AI

Microsoft said on Tuesday that this would be the case Invest $2.9 billion more than two years to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in Japan.

Also on Tuesday, the countries announced that four universities would collaborate on artificial intelligence research, funded by $110 million in private sector investments from NVIDIA, Amazon, Softbank, Microsoft and other companies.

ROOM

Japan hopes to land its first astronaut on the moon with the US Artemis project, which aims to return humans there by 2026, as competition with Russia and China increases. The joint statement announced a common goal for a Japanese citizen to be the first non-American to land on the moon during an Artemis mission.

NUCLEAR FUSION AND SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL

The two countries announced a joint partnership to accelerate development and commercialization of nuclear fusion. The project will focus on the scientific and technical challenges of achieving commercial fusion and expanding work between U.S. and Japanese universities, national laboratories and private companies, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

Scientists, governments and companies have been trying for decades to harness fusion, the nuclear reaction that powers the sun, to deliver carbon-free electricity. It can be replicated on Earth using heat and pressure, using lasers or magnets, to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing large amounts of energy.

Japan and the US also agreed at the summit to support sustainable aviation fuel.

BULLET TRAINS

The US and Japan expressed support for a plan to build the first high-speed rail line in the US using Japanese bullet trains. The project would connect the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston and is estimated to cost about $25$30 billion, but faces legal and political hurdles.

PHILIPPINES

The US is planning a joint Coast Guard patrol in the Indo-Pacific region in the coming year, as well as joint maritime training activities as planned “around Japan in 2025,” the countries said.

Washington will also plant secret “humanitarian supplies” at Philippine military bases, they said.

New investments were announced in submarine cables, logistics, clean energy and telecommunications. Facebook parent Meta invested in an undersea cable system that connects the US with the Philippines.

Biden’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment backed a new Luzon corridor effort in the Philippines, focused on infrastructure projects including ports, railways, clean energy and semiconductor supply chains. – Reuters