Trump expects Japan's military to reinforce United States in Asia and beyond

TOKYO, May 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump
expects that Japan's military will reinforce U.S. forces
throughout Asia and elsewhere, he said on Tuesday, as the key
U.S. ally upgrades the ability of its forces to operate further
from its shores.
Trump's comments followed his inspection of Japan's largest
warship, the Kaga, a helicopter carrier designed to carry
submarine-hunting helicopters to distant waters.
The vessel, which will soon be upgraded to handle F-35B
short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) jets, sailed to
India on a flag-flying mission last year, going through the
contested South China Sea, much of which is claimed by Beijing.
"With this extraordinary new equipment the Kaga will help
our nations defend against a range of complex threats in the
region and far beyond," Trump said in a speech on the ship's
hangar deck.
The refit of the vessel, and its sister ship, the Izumo, is
expected to bolster U.S. forces operating from Japan by
providing a refuelling platform for U.S. Marine F-35Bs.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who accompanied Trump on
the visit to the Kaga, has boosted defence spending since taking
office in December 2012, stretching the pacifist constitution to
ease limits on troop activities abroad.
He also wants to revise the post-World War Two charter to
recognise the existence of Japan's military.
The Kaga and the Izumo are the biggest aircraft carriers
Japan has operated since its wartime defeat, but its Self
Defence Forces designate them as destroyers, as constitutional
curbs forbid possession of weapons that could be used to attack
other countries.
Trump is winding up a four-day state visit meant to
underscore the U.S.-Japan alliance, but shadowed by friction
over Tokyo's big trade surplus with America.
On Monday he told a news conference that Washington
supported Japan's efforts to improve its defence capability and
touted Tokyo's purchases of American military equipment.
Japan last year unveiled a plan to buy 45 more F-35 stealth
fighters, including some B variants, worth about $4 billion,
adding to the 42 jets it has already ordered.
Japan says it eventually wants to field a force of around
150 of the advanced fighter jets, as it tries to keep ahead of
China's advances in military technology.
"This purchase would give Japan the largest fleet of F-35s
of any of our allies," Trump said on the Kaga, docked at the
Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo.
The base is the headquarters of the Japanese fleet and also
the home port of the U.S. Seventh Fleet.