US and Japan to build missile plant as regional tensions rise

The United States and Japan agreed late Wednesday to establish a Japanese facility for the joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the plan during a news conference in the central province of Cebu, where he met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the sidelines of an annual meeting of Southeast Asian defense chiefs and their major Asian and Western counterparts.

Koizumi said the missiles, produced under a joint effort called Operation Supercharge, are essential for the F-35. He did not provide further details about the agreement or the facility's location and timeline. The F-35 is a U.S.-made aircraft used by the Japanese military.

During his meeting with Hegseth in Cebu, Koizumi said they shared a sense of crisis regarding the increasingly severe regional situation. He added that both sides agreed to strengthen the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance with greater speed and intensity than ever before. He also said their discussions were not directed at any specific country.

The annual meetings aim to prevent a major regional conflict and strengthen defense cooperation. On the sidelines of the meetings, the U.S. and China and their allies have often traded criticisms. Hegseth renewed the Trump administration's commitments to help deter aggression in the region in a separate meeting on Wednesday with ASEAN defense ministers, led by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. Like Koizumi, Hegseth did not name China when discussing security concerns in the region.

The approach the United States is taking is described as strong, quiet and clear, Hegseth told the ASEAN defense chiefs. He said it is strong enough to deter coercion and aggression, quiet enough to avoid needless escalation or public theatrics to let actions speak for themselves. Hegseth also assured the Philippines that the Trump administration will build a strong deterrence against China's actions in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing claims the waterway, a key global trade route, almost in its entirety. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also have overlapping claims there.

Washington has warned that it is obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships, and aircraft come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea. Beijing and Tokyo have a separate dispute over small Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea, with both sides accusing the other of infringing on their maritime territory. Associated Press journalists Aaron Favila in Cebu, Philippines, and Haruka Nuga in Tokyo contributed to this report.