KCNA Commentary Assails Dangerous U.S.-Japan Military Nexus

  Pyongyang, December 11 (KCNA) -- The U.S.-Japan military drills in the South China Sea have been put on a regular footing.
    The commander-in-chief of the U.S. Forces in the Pacific and the minister of Defence of Japan at the talks in Hawaii on Nov. 24 agreed to continue joint military maneuvers of U.S. forces and naval "Self-Defense Force" of Japan in the South China Sea.
    This goes to prove that the military nexus between the U.S. and Japan has become ever more undisguised to reach a more aggressive phase.
    The joint military actions of the U.S. and Japan are increasingly likely in the South China Sea.
    They have staged annual joint military drills "AE-16" for over 20 years.
    The captain of the U.S. nuclear carrier Ronald Reagan said during the military drill "AE-16" staged in November that the drill clearly demonstrated the close and strong military relations between the U.S. and Japan and that the U.S.-Japan relations still remained the core of the elements for ensuring security, stability, peace and prosperity in the Pacific in the 21st century.
    The U.S. forces and the Japan "Self-defense Forces" have staged diverse drills, big and small, almost every month and every week in recent years.
    They include "Yama Sakura", "Orient Shield" and "North Wind" by the ground forces, "AE" and "Keen Sword" by the naval forces, "Red Flag" by the air forces and "Dawn Blitz". The number of troops involved in the drills and operations have further swelled in recent years.
    It is the calculation of the U.S. that success in its strategy for world domination in Northeast Asia where economic and military potentials of big powers are growing strong largely hinges on the tightening of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
    To this end, the U.S. publicly supports the growing military muscle of Japan and is set to cooperate not only in military drills but in the development of weaponry and in the fields of cyber and space.
    In the recently revised "U.S.-Japan Defence Cooperation Guidelines", the U.S. designated the five fields of security cooperation between the U.S. and Japan ranging from "peacetime" to "contingency" and specified them. It also defined the enhancement of the role of the SDF such as interception of ballistic missile, logistic support to the U.S. forces worldwide, maritime safety, search and mine removal, nonproliferation of WMDs, forcible inspection of ships and counter-terrorism operations.
    In a nutshell, the U.S. allowed the SDF to extend the sphere of its activities confined to the waters off Japan to the whole world and made it possible for its forces to receive military support from Japan during their military operations in any region of the world.
    Japan seeks to reinforce the U.S. commitment to security in Japan and cope with the expansion of influence of the regional countries through greater contribution to the U.S.-Japan alliance.
    The structure of confrontation in the region is further gaining in depth and a new arms race and military clash are escalating in the region due to the present U.S. policy of aggression and war and Japan's policy of toeing the U.S. line.
    The international community should never remain a passive onlooker to the ever-tightening of the U.S.-Japan military nexus. -0