JAPAN: Asian defence officials gather in Tokyo to discuss the U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific region
Record ID:
466797
JAPAN: Asian defence officials gather in Tokyo to discuss the U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific region
- Title: JAPAN: Asian defence officials gather in Tokyo to discuss the U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific region
- Date: 31st October 2012
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 31, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF VENUE FOR TOKYO DEFENSE FORUM - THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL FLAGS OUTSIDE VENUE JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER SATOSHI MORIMOTO WALKING INTO FORUM MORIMOTO TAKING SEAT VARIOUS OF U.S. DELEGATE SITTING IN CONFERENCE HALL SIGN READING IN ENGLISH: "USA" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER SATOSHI MORIMOTO, SAYING: "What sort of role will the U.S. play in securing the peace and stability of the Asia Pacific region? And how can we all -- the United States included --respond to the security issues Asia faces today through regional multilateral cooperation? These are, I believe, the most important questions for today's forum." VARIOUS OF DELEGATES MORIMOTO SITTING IN CONFERENCE HALL UNITED NATIONS FLAG / DELEGATES LISTENING TO MORIMOTO'S SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE DEFENCE MINISTER SATOSHI MORIMOTO, SAYING: "Japanese politics is also heading into a period of extreme change. An extraordinary session of the Diet began yesterday, so after this speech I have no choice but to slip off and head over to the parliamentary debates." SIGNS READING: "MALAYSIA", "INDONESIA" AND "INDIA" CONFERENCE UNDERWAY NATIONAL FLAGS MORIMOTO LEAVING CONFERENCE TO HEAD TO NATIONAL DIET BUILDING FOR PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES
- Embargoed: 15th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA5RLMKA38QBCKAXBQKBT5C4IBT
- Story Text: Asian defence officials gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday (October 31) to debate the role of the United States in Asia-Pacific security cooperation.
U.S. President Barack Obama is backing a strategy that calls for shifting military, diplomatic and economic resources toward the region after a decade of land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sparked by the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
The U.S. Department of Defense has also announced plans to "rebalance" U.S. naval forces from a nearly 50-50 split between the Atlantic and the Pacific to a 60-40 mix in favor of the Asia-Pacific.
"What sort of role will the U.S. play in securing the peace and stability of the Asia Pacific region? And how can we all -- the United States included --respond to the security issues Asia faces today through regional multilateral cooperation? These are, I believe, the most important questions for today's forum," Japanese Defense Minister Satoshi Morimoto told delegates on the first day of the Tokyo Defense Forum which also continues into Thursday (November 1).
But noticeably absent were officials from China, as a row over disputed islands in the East China Sea continues to overshadow cooperation between Asia's two largest economies.
Morimoto, too, appeared to have other issues on his mind, leaving the forum after a brief address to return to parliamentary debates.
"Japanese politics is also heading into a period of extreme change. An extraordinary session of the Diet began yesterday, so after this speech I have no choice but to slip off and head over to the parliamentary debates," Morimoto said.
Japan's parliament remains deadlocked, with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) blocking crucial budget deficit funding legislation.
Their aim is to press Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) into calling an early election, at a time when opinion polls show they are likely to lose any vote. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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