This is John Bachelor, conversation with Grant Newsom, a retired U.S. Marine Colonel, author of

When China Attacks on the possibility of Japan and the US working together in the face of the Chinese

aggression. There are question marks, there are doubts, there's a timeline, there's alarm, is there speed, is there adequate speed given the scale of

the threat, imminent scale of threat.

Gordon Chang joins as well. We're talking about possibilities of a mutual defense integration

of the US Navy and the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, it's a debate, is Grant Newsom.

Well, I think there's plenty of alarm.

The Japanese are worried. They just don't show it as much as most people do.

But they are very worried, but does this translate into concrete,

so improvements in military capabilities? I don't quite see that happening.

Yes, the Japanese are doing joint patrols are going to do it with the Americans

and maybe the Filipinos down south,

but it will usually be the Japanese sending one ship, maybe two.

And there's talk of this new improvement in the US-Japan defense relationship,

that is the structure of US forces and Japanese forces and how they operate in

Japan.

There's talk of that, but if you read the fine print, it doesn't sound like it's going to

translate anytime soon into real operational capabilities.

And I hope I'm wrong.

We'll find out when it's announced at the meeting with Mr Biden and Prime Minister Kishida, but I said I don't see that.

So there's a lot of concern, a lot of worry that Japanese are doing more than they ever have.

But as I said, the concrete operational improvements in Japanese capabilities and

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