The US military’s top commander in the Pacific on Tuesday tried to reassure allies that Washington would maintain its commitment to Asia and maintain strong military relations with partners, some of whom are worried about US president-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy.
“I have no doubt that we will continue our steadfast commitment to our allies and partners in the Indo-Asia Pacific,” US Pacific Command commander Admiral Harry Harris said at an event held by the publication Defense One.
“The need for and the value of American engagement in the Indo-Asia Pacific is convincing and it has [been] proven over decades,” Harris said.
Trump suggested during the election campaign that Japan and South Korea should build their own nuclear weapons, and demanded that Japan pay more for the upkeep of US forces on its soil.
That has worried Tokyo, which fears a rift in a security alliance with Washington that has been the bedrock of its defense since World War II.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to meet Trump in New York this week as Japan and other allies seek clarity on the direction the US Republican, who has never held political office, wants to take diplomatic relations.
Harris added that he was concerned by some statements made by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, but that it had not had an impact on bilateral military relations.
Tough-talking Duterte has been incensed by US concerns about a drug crackdown he has said is needed to save his country from ruin.
He has berated the administration of US President Barack Obama and made flattering comments about China, but has expressed a desire to work with Trump.
Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana said the security alliance with the US, including a 2014 agreement that allows prolonged deployment of US forces in the country, would not be scrapped.
However, naval exercises known as CARAT, or Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training, and a marine amphibious landing exercise, would be ditched, he said.
Both have been held annually.
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