Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged Thursday to ensure the Pentagon stays “firm” and “focused” as President Joe Biden has exited the presidential race amid a range of security challenges, including North Korean threats, Russia’s war in Ukraine and instability in the Middle East.
Austin made the pledge, casting the Indo-Pacific as the United States’ “priority theater of operations” in an apparent show of the Biden administration’s security commitment to regional allies and partners, including South Korea and Japan.
He and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. addressed a press conference as Austin is set to travel to Japan to attend a bilateral foreign and defense ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss security cooperation and other issues.
“Now the president is intensely focused on the work ahead, especially in ending the war in Gaza, reinforcing Ukraine’s capabilities for the long haul and making our posture in the Indo-Pacific even stronger,” Austin told reporters. “T
his department will continue to do what we always do — Stay firm and stay focused.”
Reciting the Biden administration’s achievements, Austin underscored progress in promoting security in the Indo-Pacific, including what he called “truly historic strides forward” by South Korea and Japan — an apparent allusion to the two countries’ fence-mending efforts that saw a deepening of their trilateral cooperation with the U.S.
Austin portrayed the upcoming trilateral defense ministerial meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, Shin Won-sik and Minoru Kihara, as “historic.” It is set to take place in Tokyo on Sunday.
“I am very proud that Minister Kihara and I will sit down in Tokyo with Minister Shin for an historical trilateral defense ministerial, the first-ever to be held in Japan or ROK,” he said. ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
“All of this just underscores the new convergence in the Indo-Pacific … We are not just strengthening our bilateral alliances. We
are also seeing our regional partners come together like never before around our shared vision of a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific.”
Brown accused North Korea of remaining a “significant threat” as he was referring to five key challenges facing the U.S., which also include China, Russia, Iran and violent extremists.
“All five of these challenges are acting today in an increasingly interconnected (manner),” the general said.
He added, “These increasingly interconnected threats demand a coordinated and strategic response from the international community … We must leverage all the strengths and capabilities of the U.S. and our allies and partners.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency
