Japan and US discuss ammunition production — The Japan Times

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth met in Cebu, the Philippines, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus. The sides discussed increasing ammunition production and a deterrence strategy designed to deny an adversary the ability to succeed, The Japan Times reports.

Sixth in-person meeting

These talks marked the sixth in-person meeting between the two defense chiefs. Afterwards, Hegseth wrote on X that the United States and Japan are advancing a shared vision of peace through strength.

According to him, the allies’ strategic alignment is necessary to build a credible defense capable of denying an adversary the ability to achieve its objective. Among the components of this approach, he named increased investment, expanded access, more realistic exercises, and stronger production of the ammunition needed by allied forces.

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US and Japanese officials had previously explained that this strategy is intended to make aggression physically unfeasible or prohibitively costly in order to deter an attack.

Defense cooperation

Tokyo and Washington also seek to deepen cooperation in the defense industry and accelerate joint production of advanced missile systems. Koizumi was due to hold bilateral talks with counterparts from the United States, the Philippines, India, and South Korea, as well as take part in a quadrilateral meeting with the defense ministers of the United States, the Philippines, and Australia.

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun did not attend this year’s ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus. China’s Ministry of National Defense said that China had sent a defense attaché to the Philippines in his place. As the publication notes, Tokyo is reportedly considering a new medium-term defense spending target of 3.5% of GDP.