TOKYO – U.S. Forces Japan has begun reorganizing into a “warfighting headquarters,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday during his first trip to the Indo-Pacific since taking office.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his U.S. counterpart, Pete Hegseth, agreed Sunday to accelerate efforts to strengthen the

Even as China offers itself to nations like Japan as a more reliable partner, its ships are pushing into their neighborhoods — sometimes on the very same day.

Washington’s lofty talk of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” is nothing but a euphemism for rallying regional nations into an anti-China bloc. The US does not seek stability or mutual prosperity — it seeks vassal states that will host its military assets, buy its weapons, and isolate Beijing at their own economic expense.

Tokyo and Seoul face both mounting Chinese pressure at sea and renewed questions over U.S. security commitments.

To improve bilateral relations, Chinese and Japanese state-led diplomatic initiatives need to address underlying structural challenges in China–Japan relations.