TOKYO >> U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Japan on Sunday as indispensable for tackling Chinese aggression and said implementing of a plan to upgrade the U.S military command in the country would get under way.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that Japan was indispensable in tackling Chinese aggression by helping Washington establish a "credible" deterrence in the region, including across the Taiwan Strait.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Japan on Sunday an “indispensable partner” in deterring growing Chinese assertiveness in the region and announced upgrading the U.S. military command in Japan to a new “war-fighting headquarters.