US to open new Space Force command post in Japan
The United States Space Force is planning to set up a new command post in Japan to enhance its space capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, in what analysts warned could risk fuelling the space race with China.
The command post in Japan will be the third of its kind in the Indo-Pacific region, following the establishment of similar sites in Hawaii and South Korea last year.
Maj. Charles Taylor, deputy commander of Space Forces Korea, told Stars and Stripes that a small number of Space Force members, known as guardians, have already been deployed in Japan.
Taylor refrained from disclosing the location of the new command post or the number of personnel who would be stationed there.
Last month at Camp David, President Biden hosted the leaders of South Korea and Japan. The three nations agreed to increase space cooperation.
Chinese military experts have warned that the establishment of Space Force outposts in East Asia is likely to intensify the space race between the US and China.
“The new deployment shows Joe Biden’s administration is continuing Donald Trump’s space strategy of building the Space Force as a powerful arm with both offensive and defensive capabilities,” Song Zhongpin, a former People’s Liberation Army (PLA) instructor, told The South China Morning Post.
“But it will encourage militarization in space, and lead to an arms race in outer space among capable countries, especially Beijing and Washington,” Song added.
“These two space command centers [in South Korea and Japan] that take care of US intelligence, communication, and position satellites are not only aimed at China’s most powerful strategic weapons, such intercontinental ballistic missiles, and anti-satellite systems but also help interfere with the joint operations of the PLA’s missile force, navy, air force and strategic support force,” said Ni Lexiong, a professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
The US military had stated the purpose of its Space Force base in South Korea is for “space operations and services such as missile warnings … and satellite communications with the region.”
The United States has made China the centerpiece of its national security policy and increased the tempos of drills with allies in the region.
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