Why Japan Must Reconsider Its Aegis Deployments

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Why Japan Must Reconsider Its Aegis Deployments – Jewish Policy Center

The security environment in the Western Pacific is becoming more challenging for the U.S., its friends, and allies. China seeks to dominate the region and project power globally. North Korea is expanding its arsenal of ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. To successfully deter Beijing and...

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Daniel Gouré, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute.


The security environment in the Western Pacific is becoming more challenging for the U.S., its friends, and allies. China seeks to dominate the region and project power globally. North Korea is expanding its arsenal of ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. To successfully deter Beijing and Pyongyang, and counter their ability to use military coercion, the U.S. is improving its defense posture in the region both qualitatively and quantitatively. U.S. allies in the region, chief among them Japan, need to do the same. But will Japan make the appropriate investments?

The balance of powers in the Western Pacific is changing rapidly. China is seeking to build a “great power” military that could outmatch that of the U.S. It is investing in a wide range of high-tech capabilities. Many of these are designed explicitly to counter areas of U.S. advantage or exploit clear vulnerabilities. In a recent report to Congress, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission identified a number of specific capabilities the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA)is developing for the purposes of targeting U.S. military forces and countering its advanced capabilities.

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