TOKYO ? The United States and Japan announced Monday that they will expand a shared missile defense system in East Asia by installing a new, high-powered radar in southern Japan.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto said a joint U.S.-Japanese team would begin searching immediately for a site for the new radar, which would bolster one already in place in northern Japan, on the island of Hongshu.
U.S. and Japanese leaders say the missile shield is intended to defend against the threat of an attack by North Korea, which has developed a small arsenal of nuclear weapons and is seeking to extend the range of its long-range missiles so they could reach U.S. territory.
Although Washington and Tokyo have repeatedly denied that the missile defenses are designed to counter China, the developments have heightened suspicions in Beijing that a secondary aim of the program is to contain China?s growing military power in the region.
Panetta told reporters that there was no reason for the Chinese to think the radar would target them.
?It?s no secret that one of our concerns in this area is the ballistic missile threat from North Korea,? he said. ?We have made these concerns very clear to the Chinese. We?ve also made clear that we?ll take steps to protect the United States and our allies from that threat.?
U.S. officials said the second land-based radar in Japan would enhance their ability to detect a North Korean missile launch. The U.S. and Japanese navies operate similar radars from aboard cruisers and destroyers that patrol east Asian waters on a regular basis.
?The purpose of this is to enhance our ability to defend Japan,? Panetta added, referring to the land-based radar. ?It will also be effective in protecting the U.S. homeland from the North Korean ballistic missile threat.?
In addition to detecting ballistic missiles, however, the radars also provide the U.S. military and its allies a highly detailed view of ship traffic in the region. That capability is particularly desired by U.S. allies in the region that are engaged in territorial disputes with China over contested islands and fishing grounds.
For instance, officials in the Philippines have asked the Obama administration to consider placing a similar land-based radar on their territory to gather intelligence on maritime traffic in the South China Sea. The Philippines and several other countries in the region have been butting heads with China over control of the mineral-rich seabed and local shipping lanes, which are some of the busiest in the world.
In addition to radars, the U.S. military has been expanding its use of surveillance drones in Asia across the wide expanses of the Pacific Ocean, relying primarily on unarmed, high-altitude Global Hawk aircraft.
Japan has expressed interest in obtaining Global Hawks or other surveillance drones. Morimoto alluded to this in a joint press conference with Panetta in Tokyo, saying the two countries are ?deepening cooperation on surveillance and reconnaissance activities.?
The agreement to deploy a second land-based radar in Japan was announced hours before Panetta was scheduled to arrive in Beijing for his first visit to China since he became defense secretary in July 2011.
The radar deal also comes amid a worsening dispute between Japan and China over the disputed rights to a collection of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Massive anti-Japanese demonstrations have erupted across China in recent days to protest the Japanese government?s recent decision to purchase the islands from a private Japanese landowner. The islands are known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
The Pentagon has been seeking to improve military relations with China?s People?s Liberation Army. Beijing, however, has been leery of the overtures and many PLA commanders have accused Washington of seeking to contain its growing military and economic influence in Asia and the Pacific.
Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=e5b4c98ced79ea7e6015972967e2c889
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