US, Japan Upgrade Security Ties From ‘Interoperability’ to ‘Interchangeability’

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio held talks in Washington on April 10, celebrating a “new era”of Japan-U.S. strategic cooperation as well as declaring the relationship to be a “global partnership” in a joint statement issued after the summit.

One of the biggest highlights of the summit was an agreement to deepen defense industry cooperation. Specifically, the two leaders agreed to establish a new Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment (DICAS) to promote joint development and production of defense equipment, such as missiles, as well as allowing for maintenance and repair work on U.S. ships and aircraft by Japanese companies at their commercial facilities in Japan.

“To leverage our respective industrial bases to meet the demand for critical capabilities and maintain readiness over the long term, we will convene a Forum on Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition and Sustainment (DICAS) co-led by the U.S. Department of Defense and Japan’s Ministry of Defense to identify priority areas for partnering U.S. and Japanese industry,” the joint statement said.

This is the first time in history that such a framework for regular consultations between the defense industries of Japan and the United States will be put in place, as rivalry among defense companies is usually very intense here and elsewhere.

Behind this move is a growing concern about production bottlenecks in the United States.

Washington is currently critically short of munitions, due to having to provide them to both Ukraine and Israel. The Biden administration expects the Japanese defense industry to help backfill stockpiles for the United States, whether those are Japanese-made PAC-3 missiles or artillery shells or anything else.

This move indicates that the U.S. and Japan have decided to upgrade their security ties from the current “interoperability” of U.S. and Japanese forces to “interchangeability” that allows parts to be replaced by each other.

ABC News reported on November 21, 2023, that U.S. deliveries of NATO-standard artillery shells make up “about 60-70 percent of Ukraine’s overall supply” but that these vital artillery shells supplied to Ukraine have fallen “by more than 30 percent” since Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023.

For this reason, U.S. congressional leaders have been warning that shortages of ammunition and supplies are resulting in Ukraine losing ground in the war with Russia. But in the U.S. Congress, conservative Republicans oppose aid to Ukraine. On the other hand, the left wing of the Democratic Party opposes aid to Israel, making it difficult to pass a budget. This is also one of the reasons why the Biden administration needs to rely on Japan for assistance.

For the Japanese side, the lesson of the Ukraine war is that it is difficult for a single country’s defense industry to supply all its needs in wartime. It has become clear that unless Tokyo jointly produces and develops weapons and decentralizes its stockpiles, it will not have the ability to carry on a war in the event of an emergency.

In addition, unless Japan collaborates with various countries over weapons on a regular basis, it will not be able to obtain cutting-edge military technology, nor will it be able to reduce development risks and high costs. As the Ukraine war continues to drag on, many countries, not just Japan and the United States, have learned these lessons and are increasing defense cooperation with other nations.

Cooperation in the defense industry is becoming an important tool for cooperation between allied and like-minded countries in times of emergency.

“Japan’s defense industry is important, considered as a partner responsible for national defense along with MOD/SDF [the Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces] in terms of securing equipment for SDF to carry out its missions, and it is necessary to maintain and reinforce the capability to produce high performance equipment and secure high operational rates,” Japan’s latest National Defense Strategy, published in December 2022, states.

“To this end, in the defense industry, Japan will secure not only advanced technological capabilities and quality control capabilities through reinforcing the defense technology base, but also the production, sustainment, maintenance, repair, and capacity improvement of defense equipment,” it also states.

Thus, it is beneficial for both sides that the U.S. and Japan will explore ways to make use of Japan’s industrial capacity from now on, as the Russo-Ukrainian War and the Israel-Hamas war continues. The escalation in clashes between Israel and Iran may also accelerate this move.