By Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More joint patrols are expected in the South China Sea after exercises by the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Japan last weekend, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, ahead of U.S. summits in this week with Japanese and Filipino Leaders.
Warships from the four nations staged the drills on Sunday following growing Chinese pressure on the Philippines in the disputed strategic waterway.
US President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington on Wednesday, and the two and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos will meet on Thursday for talks that will include ways to push back against China.
“On naval patrols, last week we just saw trilateral plus Australia, a new form of quadrilateral joint naval patrol, so you can expect to see more of that in the future,” Sullivan said during a regular White House briefing while previewing the vertices.
Sullivan also said Washington and its current Australian and British partners in the AUKUS security pact will explore possible Japanese involvement in the project’s second pillar, something the Biden-Kishida summit will address.
“We are ready to work with other partners beyond the three of us where they can bring capabilities, and Japan is one of the countries that could very well bring capabilities in this regard,” Sullivan said.
“Japan could make a key contribution,” he said. “You will see when they speak tomorrow, an indication that this is the direction we are moving in.”
Sullivan said Biden and Kishida will announce measures to strengthen defense and security cooperation and space exploration.
The U.S. ambassador to Japan said Tuesday that the United States will “fundamentally” change the command position of its forces in Japan to allow for better coordination, with a new military headquarters Japan plans to unveil next year , moves that would increase deterrence in the country. in the face of Chinese pressure.
Sources familiar with the planning told Reuters that Washington will consider appointing a four-star commander for Japan to match the rank of head of Japan’s new military headquarters. Experts say a US officer of that rank could lay the foundation for a future unified Japanese-US command.
Australia on Tuesday played down rumors that Japan may soon join AUKUS, saying any cooperation will be on a project-by-project basis as differences have emerged within the pact over the addition of new members. A Japanese government official told Reuters on Monday that discussions about formally joining the AUKUS were unlikely to be welcomed by Australia or Britain until they got concrete results from the pact.
While Washington welcomes Japanese involvement, U.S. officials and experts say obstacles remain given Tokyo’s need to introduce better cyber defenses and tougher rules for protecting secrets.