Jim Garamone at the DoD News offers the below report:
SINGAPORE, June 2, 2017 — The
United States is a Pacific power and will lead and work with other Pacific
nations to ensure peace and stability in the area, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
(seen above in his official DoD photo) said at the Shangri-La Dialogue here.
Speaking at the International
Institute for Strategic Studies' annual Asia security conference the morning of
June 3 in Singapore, which was the evening of June 2 Washington time, Mattis
told the annual gathering of the region's defense elite that North Korea poses
"a clear and present danger" to the United States.
"The current North
Korean program signals a clear intent to acquire nuclear-armed ballistic
missiles, including those of intercontinental range, that pose direct and
immediate threats to our regional allies, partners and all the world," the
secretary said.
Patience with North Korea is
running out in Washington and regionally, Mattis said. "The regime's
actions are manifestly illegal under international law," he added.
"There is a strong international consensus that the current situation
cannot continue. China's declared policy of a denuclearized Korean Peninsula is
our policy as well, and also that of Japan and the Republic of Korea."
China's Renewed Commitment
U.S. officials have said they
are pleased with China's renewed commitment to working within the international
community to push the hermit nation toward denuclearization. North Korea is one
area where the United States and the rest of the world need Chinese help to
rein in North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Still, Mattis said, the United
States will continue to work closely with South Korea and Japan, international
organizations and regional pacts get Kim to back away from the nuclear and
missile programs.
"Our commitment to the
defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan, to include the employment of our
most advanced capabilities, is ironclad," Mattis said. "Moreover, we
will take further steps to protect the U.S. homeland, as demonstrated by this
week's successful ballistic missile defense test."
But China is challenging
international norms in the South China Sea, and that, too, threatens stability
in the Asia-Pacific region.
Reinforcing International
Order
The United States has "a
deep and abiding commitment to reinforcing the rules-based international order,
a product of so many nations' efforts to create stability," Mattis said.
"These efforts grew out of lessons learned the hard way, from economic
depression and catastrophic wars.
"The international order
was not imposed on other nations," he continued. "Rather, the order
is based on principles that were embraced by nations trying to create a better
world and restore hope to all."
Freedom of navigation in the
region is essential to economic health globally and must be protected, the
secretary said. "Because of its growing economic power, China occupies a
position of influence in the Pacific," Mattis said. "We welcome
China's economic development. However, we can also anticipate economic and
political friction between the United States and China."
And that is fine, Mattis
said, because competition between the United States and China is bound to
occur. But "conflict is not inevitable," he added.
China's claim in the South
China Sea needs to be handled peacefully and through negotiations, not by
island-building and placing weaponry on the resulting dry land, Mattis said.
"We seek a constructive,
results-oriented relationship with China," the secretary said. "We
believe the United States can engage China diplomatically and economically to
ensure our relationship is beneficial not only to the United States and China,
but also to the region and to the world."
U.S.
Commitment
The United States remains
committed to protecting the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea in the
strategically important East and South China Seas, Mattis said.
"We oppose countries
militarizing artificial islands and enforcing excessive maritime claims
unsupported by international law," he told the security forum
participants. "We cannot and will not accept unilateral, coercive changes
to the status quo. We will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever
international law allows and demonstrate resolve through operational presence
in the South China Sea and beyond. Our operations throughout the region are an
expression of our willingness to defend both our interests and the freedoms
enshrined in international law."
Finally, Mattis discussed the
problems posed by violent extremist organizations. He noted that the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria terrorist organization is trying to gain footholds in
the region. The threat comes from fighters returning to the region from the
Middle East and from local individuals radicalized by malicious ideologies.
The Philippines and Indonesia
have seen recent attacks. "Together, we must act now to prevent this
threat from growing, otherwise it will place long-term regional security at
risk and stunt regional economic dynamism," Mattis said. "We need
only look at the chaos and violence that our friends in the Mideast are
contending with to see why we must swiftly and jointly address threats to our
region."
Strengthening Alliances
The United States will remain
involved in strengthening alliances, the defense secretary said. "History
is compelling on this point: nations with strong allies that respect one
another thrive, and those without stagnate and wither," he said.
"Alliances provide avenues for peace, fostering the conditions for
economic growth with countries that share the same vision, while tempering the
plans of those who would attack other nations or try to impose their will over
the less powerful."
The value of the strong
alliances among the United States, Japan and South Korea is enjoyed by all
countries in the region, the secretary said.
"Our combined
interoperability with allied forces – enhanced through force posture initiatives
– ensures we are prepared to cooperate during real-world crises," he
added. "Deterrence of war remains our ultimate goal."
The U.S. military is working
with Philippine allies to train, advise, and assist them in their fight against
violent extremist organizations in the southern part of the island nation, he
said.
"But we also know a
stable region requires us all to work together, and that is why we support
greater engagement with [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations],"
Mattis said. "Because no single bilateral relationship can get us where we
want to go -- only working in concert can take us forward."
Security is the foundation of
prosperity, and the United States will continue to strengthen military
capabilities in the region, Mattis said. The majority of the Navy and Air Force
are deployed to the Asia-Pacific region. The most capable weapon systems are
earmarked for bases in the Pacific.
"The United States seeks
to integrate diplomatic, economic and military approaches to regional concerns,
enabling Secretary of State (Rex) Tillerson and our diplomats to address tough
issues from a position of strength," he said. "It is the role of the
military to set the conditions for diplomacy to succeed. The United States has
consistently endeavored to use its armed forces to support stability to the
Asia-Pacific, and to reinforce our diplomatic efforts."
Note: The above DoD photo taken by Jim Garamone Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
and John Chipman, director of the International Institute for Strategic
Studies, speak before the secretary delivered remarks on U.S strategy in the
Asia-Pacific region at the 16th Shangri-La Dialogue Asia security conference in
Singapore on June 3, 2017.
