The rules-based international order that has served the world well is under attack, and the United States and Japan must work even more closely together to defend, maintain and strengthen the order, said Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs. .
Ratner was speaking remotely at the Mount Fuji Dialogue – an annual meeting of experts on the US-Japan alliance in Tokyo.
The most terrifying attack on the rules-based international order comes from across the world from Japan with Russia’s unprovoked and vicious attack on Ukraine. He said the attack had “far-reaching geopolitical, economic and humanitarian consequences. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is an affront to free people everywhere, and its impact is felt far beyond Europe, challenging the order we have all worked so hard to build and defense.”
He praised Japan for seeing the attack as a challenge to the international community. “The US and Japan, together with the international community, condemned the Russian invasion, imposed sanctions against Russian entities and sent the necessary aid to Ukraine,” he said. “Japan’s quick and decisive actions helped transform the international response from regional to global. Through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the US and our allies and partners are exploring innovative ways to maintain our long-term support for the brave men and women of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities , which he needs for self-defense.”
Unity against Russia is a model for challenges everywhere. “In the Indo-Pacific, the key takeaway from this conflict is that aggression of any kind will be met with unity of action, as we have seen more than 30 of our allies and partners, including the Indo-Pacific, join us in stepping up security assistance to Ukraine,” he said.
Ratner addressed China’s ongoing challenges to order in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
China’s overreaction to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in August is causing concern throughout the region. “After President Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in early August, China has launched an intensified and deliberate campaign of pressure on Taiwan to try to change the status quo, threatening peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
China’s aggressive and coercive military activities in the Taiwan Strait and in the waters surrounding Japan … are provocative and destabilizing, he said. China is seeking to establish a “new normal” regarding Taiwan, threatening regional peace and security.
“Meanwhile, over the past year we have seen a dramatic increase in substandard and dangerous air intercepts by the People’s Liberation Army in the region, designed to coerce and intimidate US and allied forces operating lawfully in international airspace,” he said.
Japan and the United States and partners have been absolutely clear that China’s attempts to coerce Taiwan and the wider region are dangerous and destabilizing, the assistant secretary of state said. “We are equally clear about our commitment to maintaining a rules-based order and a free and open Indo-Pacific, as well as working with our like-minded allies and partners to maintain peace and stability across the strait,” Ratner said. “We will not be deterred by the PRC’s brazen attempts at coercion and will continue to fly, sail and operate – including with our allies and partners – wherever international law allows.”
North Korea is a third threat with its continued development of nuclear weapons and a missile program that violates international law, he said. “These hostile activities are dangerous, reckless and damaging to regional and international security,” Ratner said. “In addition, we are seriously concerned about the DPRK’s escalating and destabilizing messages related to the use of nuclear weapons.”
These threats require responses, and the United States and Japan are working together to strengthen the treaty alliance between the two countries and modernize deterrence capabilities. “We are significantly enhancing the alliance’s deterrence and response capabilities to ensure that competitive advantage is maintained,” Ratner said. “This includes strengthening extended and integrated deterrence, improving information and cyber security, deepening cooperation in space, cyber and emerging technologies, and coordinating bilateral contingency planning.”
The allies are working to increase military interoperability. They strive to develop new capabilities and improve more established ones.
“We are working with the Japanese government to enhance the alliance’s capabilities to keep up with growing regional security challenges,” he said. “As the PLA rapidly improves many of its capabilities, including attack, air defense, missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, and space and cyber warfare, the US and Japan are stepping up efforts to cooperate on advanced and emerging technologies such as unmanned systems and anti-hypersonic technologies.”
Ratner said the United States welcomes Japan’s commitment to funding these strategies and programs. “As the Japanese government prepares to release an update to its strategic guidance documents, including the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Program Guidelines, and the Medium-Term Defense Program, we welcome Japan’s commitment to increasing defense spending to strengthen its military capabilities,” he said. “We also support Japan’s determination to explore all options necessary for national defense, including capabilities to counter missile threats. Through this process, we are committed to aligning our two countries’ strategies and policies in the coming year.”
But even economic powers like the United States and Japan cannot do everything, and nations are committed to working with like-minded partners in the region and beyond, Ratner said. These allies and partners are aware of the stakes in challenges to the rules-based order and are responding.
Promoting peace and stability in a region that covers more than 50 percent of the world requires cooperation.
Australia is a key part of this, and the US and Japan are deepening these ties. “Earlier this year, Japan and Australia signed a mutual access agreement that sets out procedures for cooperative activities that will promote increased defense cooperation between the two countries’ defense forces,” he said. “In the future, we agreed to increase training opportunities [among] the three countries, promote coordinated responses to regional disasters and crises, and deepen cooperation in naval capacity building and intelligence sharing.”
