The highest-ranking U.S. military officer on Friday encouraged Japan's commitment to doubling its defense spending over the next five years, calling Tokyo's controversial push for a stronger military crucial to confront rising threats from North Korea and China.
Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, mentioned Japan's need for improvements in cruise missile defense, early warning missile systems and air capabilities, all of which would help the United States as it looks to counter North Korea's push for a nuclear missile program capable of pinpoint-targeting the U.S. mainland and China's increasing aggression against Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing claims as its own.
