US Defense Secretary Hegseth vows to stand firmly with Japan in face of aggressive China

The Manila Times

US Defense Secretary Hegseth vows to stand firmly with Japan in face of aggressive China  US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Japan on Sunday, March 30, as indispensable for tackling Chinese aggression and said implementing of a plan to upgrade the US military command in the country would get under way.  Calling Japan a "cornerstone of peace and security in the Indo-Pacific," he said President Donald Trump’s government would continue to work closely with its key Asian ally.  In July, then-President Joe Biden's White House announced a major revamp of the US military command in Japan to deepen coordination with Tokyo's forces, as the two countries labeled China their "greatest strategic challenge."  FOREIGN POOL / REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe   Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net   Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  #TheManilaTimes #worldnews  #japan  #us

Transcript

00:00As you know, President Trump has said America will re-establish peace through strength.

00:08President Trump has also made it very clear, and we reiterate,

00:12we are going to put America first.

00:15But America first does not mean America alone.

00:20America's warriors stand shoulder to shoulder every day

00:24with their Japan Self-Defense Force counterparts.

00:28Our forces operate and train together across all domains to uphold deterrence.

00:35America and Japan stand firmly together in the face of aggressive

00:40and coercive actions by the Communist Chinese.

00:44America is committed to sustaining robust, ready, and credible deterrence

00:49in the Indo-Pacific, including across the Taiwan Strait.

00:54Japan would be on the front lines of any contingency we might face in the Western Pacific,

00:59and we stand together in support of each other.

01:04We have a robust alliance agenda that will strengthen our deterrence posture,

01:09keep the enemy guessing, creating dilemmas for them,

01:13and ensure that we achieve peace through strength, as I mentioned.

01:16This means ensuring that we have the right posture in Japan

01:20and the right capabilities forward deployed here,

01:23whether permanent or temporary.

01:26It also means expanding access to key terrain here in the first island chain,

01:31such as Japan's southwest islands.

01:34And certainly it means exercising together at those critical locations.

01:39And with that, I want to announce that the Defense Department has started Phase 1

01:43of upgrading U.S. Forces Japan to a Joint Force Headquarters.

01:49This upgrade will improve our ability to coordinate operations

01:52with Japan's own Joint Operations Command, or JJOC.

01:57And we certainly welcome JJOC's establishment this past week.

02:01It's more urgency. It's more cooperation in real time.

02:06It also increases our readiness to respond to contingency or crisis,

02:11support U.S. operations, and help Japan and U.S. Forces defend this territory.

02:18Soon we will add additional personnel in Tokyo and at U.S. Forces Japan headquarters

02:24to conduct activities that will strengthen our bilateral bonds

02:28and deepen our operational cooperation.

02:32This also means reorganizing U.S. Forces Japan into a warfighting headquarters,

02:39increasing its staff, and giving its commander the authorities needed

02:43to accomplish new missions.

02:46And in our meeting, America and Japan, we seek peace.

02:53But as my first platoon motto says, those who long for peace must prepare for war.

02:57We must be prepared.

03:00For those of you on the phone, please wait until your name is called.

03:30For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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