Japan's Security Policy and the U.S. Rebalance to the Asia Pacific
Japan's Security Policy and the U.S. Rebalance to the Asia Pacific
The Honorable Seiji Maehara Chairman, Policy Research Council, Democratic Party of Japan Washington, DC September 12, 2012 Honorable Members of Congress, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening. Thank you Congressman McDermott for that generous introduction. I am honored to have this opportunity to speak before such a distinguished audience. And I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dan Bob of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA as well as to the Congressional Study Group on Japan and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Japan for making this event possible. Yesterday marked the eleventh anniversary of the terrible 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since that dark day, the United States has focused much of its international security attention on fighting terrorism around the globe and prosecuting wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This year, with the end of the war in Iraq and the wind-down of the war in Afghanistan, the United States has begun to implement a new security strategy based on rebalancing its attention and resources toward the Asia-Pacific. As that strategy is more fully realized over coming years, coordination with Japan, America’s most important and steadfast ally in the region, will become even more important than it is today. The strengthened U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific -- even in the face of greater budget austerity -will contribute greatly to regional security, stability and shared prosperity. It is a development I personally welcome as does my party and my country. One major factor underlying Japan’s support for America’s rebalancing effort is that even as the global economic center of gravity shifts to the region, Asia Pacific security dynamics have become increasingly complicated. Tonight I would like to give a few of my own thoughts on the situation in the Asia Pacific and on the future of the U.S.-Japan Alliance. Let me begin by touching on China. Beijing’s
The Honorable Seiji Maehara Chairman, Policy Research Council, Democratic Party of Japan Washington, DC September 12, 2012 Honorable Members of Congress, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening. Thank you Congressman McDermott for that generous introduction. I am honored to have this opportunity to speak before such a distinguished audience. And I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dan Bob of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA as well as to the Congressional Study Group on Japan and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in Japan for making this event possible. Yesterday marked the eleventh anniversary of the terrible 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since that dark day, the United States has focused much of its international security attention on fighting terrorism around the globe and prosecuting wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This year, with the end of the war in Iraq and the wind-down of the war in Afghanistan, the United States has begun to implement a new security strategy based on rebalancing its attention and resources toward the Asia-Pacific. As that strategy is more fully realized over coming years, coordination with Japan, America’s most important and steadfast ally in the region, will become even more important than it is today. The strengthened U.S. commitment to the Asia-Pacific -- even in the face of greater budget austerity -will contribute greatly to regional security, stability and shared prosperity. It is a development I personally welcome as does my party and my country. One major factor underlying Japan’s support for America’s rebalancing effort is that even as the global economic center of gravity shifts to the region, Asia Pacific security dynamics have become increasingly complicated. Tonight I would like to give a few of my own thoughts on the situation in the Asia Pacific and on the future of the U.S.-Japan Alliance. Let me begin by touching on China. Beijing’s