Japan's Defense Minister Calls for Stronger Defense Cooperation at Farnborough Airshow

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Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi delivered the following keynote address at the Farnborough International Airshow in southern England on July 20 (local time).

In the speech, he revealed that Chinese and Russian naval vessels had conducted live-fire exercises inside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) over the weekend, warning that the two countries are deepening their military cooperation.

He also argued that the security of the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic is inseparable, calling for closer cooperation between the two regions.

Opening Remarks

Good afternoon. I am Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of Defense of Japan.

First of all, congratulations to England on taking third place in the World Cup. Also, if Spanish or Argentine friends happen to be here, thank you for treating us to such a spectacular final match.

And I want to express my utmost respect to all the participating countries, including my own country, Japan.

Now the World Cup is over. There are no more excuses. It is time for us to focus on the work. I know the new UK cabinet is kicking off their duty today. So let's get to work. Don't get behind them.

It is a great honor to speak to you today here at the historic Farnborough International Airshow, in the presence of distinguished government representatives and leaders from the aerospace, space and defense industries.

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere appreciation to the organizers for hosting this outstanding forum. Thank you very much.

I recently attended the NATO Summit and the NATO Defense Industry Forum. The message Japan delivered there was clear.

The security of the Indo-Pacific and the security of the Euro-Atlantic is inseparable. They are interconnected.

Japan will continue to fullfil its responsibilities, including through sustained support for Ukraine, in order to uphold a free and open international order. The reality of international security is becoming increasingly severe.

China-Russia Military Cooperation

Shortly before the recent NATO Ankara Summit, China conducted a missile launch from a submarine. Joint flights by Chinese and Russian bombers around Japan have now reached ten occasions.

And now, at this moment, Chinese and Russian naval bases are conducting joint navigation operations in the waters surrounding Japan. They conducted live-fire exercises within Japan's EEZ over the weekend. Each of these is yet another manifestation of the deepening military cooperation between China and Russia.

In the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is the foremost security challenge facing Europe today, North Korea is providing support to Russia in various forms, thereby helping to sustain Russia's capability to sustain the war.

What's happening in Europe and East Asia is not occurring in isolation, rather, these events taking place in separate regions are intertwined.

Defense Production as Deterrence

There is one message that I have frequently emphasized on many occasions: "Defense production is deterrence itself."

No matter how advanced a defense system may be, it means little if it cannot be produced. Deliver on time. Accelerate production. Enable a rapid innovation cycle.

The battlefield in Ukraine shows us that technology, including drones, is evolving day by day and being rapidly introduced into combat. Japan regards the defense industry as defense capability itself.

In order to shape a security environment favorable to Japan, we revised our defense equipment transfer policy in this April.

Through this reform, under appropriate screening and proper management, Japan has made it possible in principle to transfer all categories of defense equipment, including fighter aircraft and destroyers.

Furthermore, in order to respond to the increasingly severe security environment, Japan will move forward with revisions to its strategic documents, including the National Security Strategy by the end of this year.

These documents set out the basic direction of Japan's security policy, the future posture of our defense capabilities, and the direction for their development.

Strengthening Japan's Industrial Base

Japan also plans to formulate a Defense Production and Technology Base Strategy, which will set out the medium- to long-term direction of our defense industry.

One of the key objectives of these strategies is to secure the production capacity needed to sustain the supply of defense equipment, even in the event of a prolonged contingency—a lesson made clear by Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Our objective is clear. To strengthen deterrence and response capabilities, and to ensure that no new war is ever allowed to occur. We will pursue these efforts with a high degree of transparency.

At the recent NATO Defense Industry Forum, many large-scale industrial cooperation initiatives were announced.

Defense industry can no longer be completed by one country alone. Cooperation with trusted partners is becoming increasingly important for Japan as well. In particular, cooperation with European partners that possess exquisite technologies is indispensable for Japan.

The essence of such cooperation is to bring together each other's strengths and expertise. It is to complement one another where capabilities are needed.

It is to close gaps in defense industrial capacity, and to build resilient supply chains together. The Japanese companies exhibiting here at Farnborough have accumulated advanced technologies and a strong willingness to promote international cooperation.

Japan's Defense Industry at Farnborough

The SJAC (Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies) Pavilion is located in Hall 2, and Japan's leading defense industrial companies, including MHI and IHI, are also exhibiting in individual chalets.

I encourage all of you to engage directly with Japanese companies. Just one request: please wait until I have finished my speech before you do.

I hope you will see for yourselves the technological excellence and reliability of Japanese industry. This is what I would call a "proven record of trust and technology"—a evaluation built over many years of achievement. What we seek is not simply the transfer of defense equipment.

Through the accumulation of such cooperation, we seek to enable allies and like-minded partners to operate common equipment, share production bases, and enhance interoperability and interchangeability. I believe this will become an essential foundation supporting deterrence in the era ahead.

GCAP and Strategic Cooperation

Let me now talk about the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) which, I believe, many of you here already know.

Japan has been driving forward this ambitious project GCAP with the United Kingdom and Italy, which will definitely boost defense industrial cooperation with Europe to the next level.

The GCAP is not merely a fighter development programme. It is a strategic partnership with Japan's like-minded partners, the United Kingdom and Italy, to jointly build the future of security and technological innovation.

The collaboration through the programme will build a long-lasting foundation for close partnership among people, collaboration in technology, as well as cooperation among industries in the decades to come.

This one-of-a-kind programme will strongly connect the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic with security, and will be a good model of security collaboration that transcends distant regions.

The GCAP enhances defense capabilities, and moreover, promotes ties among industries, technical research institutes and human resources, leading to technological innovations.

In Japan, this is an all-nation programme where we bring together the best defense and commercial technologies and expertise from the nation's air and space industry, and in this all-Japan approach, we are vigorously moving this project forward.

I genuinely hope that this all-Japan approach will support the resiliency of the supply chain, providing a stable basis that will sustain the development, acquisition, operation and maintenance of the next-generation fighter into the future.

What we three nations are now challenging to build in collaboration is not merely a future aircraft. It is the trust, technology and partnership that will be passed on to future generations to come.

Let me conclude. Defense production and technology bases are not only the foundation of Japan's security.

Japan's Vision as a 'Dot Connector'

They are a foundation that supports the security of our allies and like-minded partners as well. I have a vision for the future.

It is a future in which Japan serves as the world's "Dot Connector."

Connecting allies and like-minded nations. Connecting governments and industries. Connecting technologies and innovations. And, above all, connecting people.

The term "Dot Connector" was presented by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a leader whom I deeply respected. As Minister of Defense, I, too, am committed to playing that role.

Connecting dots to form lines, and lines to form global fabrics. Together, we will build a multi-layered web of connectivity that spans governments, industries, technologies, and societies. Because it is this vision that will sustain a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Japan is committed to advancing industrial cooperation between the Indo-Pacific and the Trans-Atlantic community through a whole-of-government and whole-of-industry effort.

And finally, I would like to leave you with three simple messages.

Production is deterrence. Partnership is power. Trust is our advantage. These words embody our determination.

I very much hope to see many of you here at Farnborough, and also, look forward to welcoming all of you to Japan next spring for our proud equipment exhibition, DSEI Japan.

Thank you very much.

Speech by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi

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