By amending the ‘Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation’ in April 2015, the U.S. has made it possible for Japan to expand the role of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. Meanwhile, the U.S. is moving toward closer cooperation with Australia in an effort to counter ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, in April 2014, the U.S. and the Philippines signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), granting the U.S. armed forces the right to access and use military bases and installations in the Philippines. The U.S. is also widening the scope of security cooperation with India. They released a ‘Joint Strategic Vision’ statement in January 2015 and signed an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement in June 2015, during the U.S.-India summit meeting. In December 2015, by amending the ‘Agreement on Defense Cooperation,’ the U.S. and Singapore agreed to cooperate in the fields of military, policy, strategy and technology, and to jointly respond to non-traditional threats. In May 2016, the U.S. fully lifted the ban on arms sales to Vietnam during President Obama’s visit to the country. While strengthening its bilateral ties with its allies and partners, the U.S. is also managing its foreign policy in an aggressive manner through the security networking of its allies and partners into trilateral or multilateral structures such as the ROK-U.S.-Japan relationship, the U.S.-Japan-Australia relationship, and the U.S.-Japan-India trilateral relationship. On the military front, the U.S. is developing a joint warfare concept, as exemplified by the Joint Concept for Access and Maneuver in the Global Commons (JAM-GC), which reflects new operational requirements, and is deploying cutting-edge sea and air-based war-fighting capabilities to the Asia-Pacific, including stealth fighters like the F-22 and the F-35, the maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft P-8 Poseidon, Virginia-class nuclear submarines, unmanned undersea vehicles, and strategic bombers. The Army plans to reduce the size of its troops from the current 500,000 to 460,000 by September 2017, while the Navy is planning to deploy 60% of its forces to the Asia-Pacific region by increasing the number of vessels operating in the region as it continues to expand its fleet size until 2020. The Air Force is also set to procure next-generation fighter aircrafts, aerial refueling tankers, transport aircraft and long-range stealth bombers. It is also improving the ground attack and electronic combat capabilities of the F-22 and is developing the LRS-B15) which will replace the B-2 and B-52. The U.S. military is also bolstering efforts to strengthen its cyber-security posture. In December 2014, the U.S. Congress passed the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, and in 2016, the CTIIC16) was established. 15) Long range Strike Bomber. 16) Cyber threat intelligence integration Center 16 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security environment