Breaking news
US calls for strengthening missile defense cooperation with South Korea and Japan.
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Defence & Security News - United States |
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| Thursday, December 11, 2014 11:15 AM | |||
| US calls for strengthening missile defense cooperation with South Korea and Japan | |||
The
U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that calls for greater
missile defense cooperation with South Korea and Japan. The legislation,
H.R.3979, calls for the secretary of defense to conduct an assessment
to identify opportunities for increasing missile defense cooperation with
the two allies and evaluate options for enhanced short-range missile,
rocket, and artillery defense capabilities to address threats from the
Korean Peninsula. |
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Japan Self-Defense
Forces' Patriot
MIM-104 surface-to-air defense missile systems deployed in Tokyo |
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| The
bill passed the House on Thursday last week and awaits approval from the
Senate.
“It is the sense of Congress that increased cooperation on missile defense among the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea would enhance the security of allies of the United States in Northeast Asia, increase the defense of forward-based forces of the United States, and enhance the protection of the United States with regard to threats from the Korean Peninsula,” the legislation said. The legislation requires the defense secretary to conduct an assessment on candidate areas for increasing missile defense cooperation, potential challenges and limitations to such cooperation, and other matters and report the outcome to the congressional defense committees within six months. The U.S. has pushed to build a regional missile defense with South Korea and Japan in a move that critics say is aimed not only at countering North Korean treats, but also keeping China in check. Seoul has said it will build its own Korean Air and Missile Defense System, rather than joining the U.S. system. |
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