The Self-Defense Forces’ newly launched Joint Operations Command (JJOC) will play a critical role in coordinating responses with allies and partners to a broad spectrum of potential crises, the chief of a similar Australian military command established in 2004 told The Japan Times.
“I see this as another milestone in an ever-evolving and strengthening relationship with Japan,” Vice Adm. Justin Jones, the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) chief of joint operations, said in an exclusive interview Monday, noting that the new structure will not only enable direct communication with similar commands in partner countries but also result in greater speed and efficiency when coordinating and conducting joint operations.
“Without a doubt, the new SDF command will be enormously important for contingency planning,” he said.
“Australia is a strategic partner of Japan, so both of our nations have fundamental interests regarding what goes on in this region and how we can work together to protect the regional order,” Jones noted, adding that with the launch of the permanent JJOC, “we should be able to work even closer together on operational matters.”
Formally inaugurated on Monday and made up of an initial staff of 240, the JJOC will centrally oversee the three SDF branches to facilitate joint multidomain operations, including preparing for and responding to possible emergencies amid what Tokyo views as “the most severe and complex postwar security environment.”
The establishment of the JJOC has been a key component of Japan’s revised national security strategy — aimed at significantly reinforcing the country’s defense capabilities — as Tokyo recognized the need for a structure “that can respond to any situation, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” instead of having the SDF organize temporary joint task forces as crises arise.
When it comes to coordinating operations with allies and partners, the JJOC’s new chief, Gen. Kenichiro Nagumo, will serve as a counterpart to the head of the U.S. military’s Indo-Pacific Command while acting as a coordinator with an upgraded U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ).
His Australian counterpart will be Jones, who has held his post since last July.
Cooperation between the respective joint commands is expected to grow rapidly, particularly as Tokyo and Canberra become more strategically aligned than ever amid serious concerns over the growing military capabilities of China, Russia and North Korea and their increased assertiveness in the region.
In fact, Japan and Australia have been rapidly expanding military and defense-industrial ties — both bilaterally and trilaterally with their common ally, the United States — to enhance deterrence as well as boost collective capacity and interoperability.
To achieve these, the two sides are not only holding more frequent and complex exercises, they are also working on promoting mutual understanding, with the SDF dispatching a liaison officer to Australia’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command last November. The ADF plans to reciprocate later this year by sending an officer to JJOC.
“Anytime nations operate together, be it Japan and Australia, we are learning about each other, building an understanding of the way in which we work, and gathering knowledge of our capabilities and our limitations,” Jones said.
“That's extremely important when it comes to real-world contingencies, whether they be responding to natural disasters or more worrisome scenarios like evacuating personnel from other nations due to unforeseen circumstances,” he added.
Coordination between the countries’ joint military commands will be beneficial in a number of areas, Jones said, including operations such as Argos — the ADF’s contribution to international efforts to enforce U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea — as well as a number of high-end warfighting exercises such as Keen Sword, Keen Edge and Talisman Sabre.
Another area will be the joint naval patrols that the “quasi-allies” conduct alongside U.S. and Philippine warships — maneuvers that are expected to intensify in the near future.
Asked about what advice he would give to the newly founded JJOC, Jones said that the ADF — since launching its own joint command 21 years ago — has learned how important it is to maintain the culture that underpins each of the armed services, be it army, navy, air force, cyber, space or special ops.
“You don't have to get rid of service cultures. In fact, you need to embrace them,” he said. “You can't build jointness without understanding your own service as well as the different perspectives and approaches that other services bring to the table to tackle common challenges and problems.”
Another lesson is to understand that there will always be tensions between the service chiefs, who would like to adequately train as many troops as possible, and the joint operation commanders, who will want to deploy these forces on real-world missions.
“It is a really important tension that no one should seek to get rid of, because both sides have a fair argument, he said, noting that finding a solution often comes down to a combination of communication, cooperation and compromise.
At the same time the commander explained that transforming a modern military into a truly integrated force is a never-ending process, a challenge that the JJOC, just like any other joint command, will also have to face.
In fact, two decades later, while the ADF can operate seamlessly as a joint force, it is still dealing with the challenges of working in an integrated manner across all government sectors and using all tools of statecraft, Jones said.
“I don't think there is a country on Earth that has cracked that level of integration yet,” he said, adding that in his eyes “the integration journey will never end.”
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