President Donald Trump warned nations against challenging the U. as he rallied American troops in Japan on the first stop of his 11-day tour of Asia.
Speaking to U. and Japanese military personnel on Sunday at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, Trump said he would push for freedom in the region and fair trade in meetings with other leaders. He also exuded confidence in the U. military as tensions rise with North Korea.
“We dominate the sky, we dominate the sea, we dominate the land and space,” Trump said. “No one -- no dictator, no regime and no nation -- should underestimate ever American resolve. Every once in a while in the past they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it.”
Concerns over provocations from North Korea have risen as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in defiance of international sanctions. Trump has threatened military action to stop Pyongyang from obtaining the ability to strike the continental U. with a nuclear weapon.
“As long as I am president, the service men and women who defend our nation will have the equipment, the resources and the funding they need to secure our homeland, to respond to our enemies quickly and decisively, and when necessary to fight, to overpower, and to always, always, always win,” he said.
After speaking to troops, Trump met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a round of golf. The two leaders are scheduled to have a private dinner on Sunday night ahead of more formal meetings and a joint press briefing on Monday. He is scheduled to head to South Korea on Tuesday morning.
Here’s What Trump Must Get Done on High Stakes Asia Trip
In his remarks on Sunday, Trump called Japan a “treasured partner and crucial ally” of the U. He also spoke to troops more broadly about what he hoped to accomplish on his trip through Asia.
“We will seek new opportunities for cooperation and commerce, and we will partner with friends and allies to pursue a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” he said. “We will seek free, fair and reciprocal trade. But this future is only within our grasp because of you.”
During an interview Thursday with Fox News, Trump said the citizens of Japan “should be worried” by their proximity to North Korea.
“I tell everyone else that, listen, you’re going to have yourself a big problem with Japan pretty soon if you allow this to continue with North Korea,” Trump said.
Abe’s party was re-elected in a general election last month after pledging a hard line on North Korea and a push to change Japan’s pacifist constitution written after World War II. He has been one of Trump’s most reliable allies in dealing with Kim, emphasizing the need for pressure over dialogue.
“The president recognizes that we’re running out of time and will ask all nations to do more,” White House national security adviser H. McMaster told reporters on Thursday.
Trade Deficit
The U. and Japan entered a security agreement in 1960, and an estimated 50,000 U. personnel are stationed in the country.7 billion in fiscal year 2015 as part of the cost of hosting the U.
During the presidential campaign, Trump called on Japan to significantly increase its contribution to funding American bases like Yokota.
“Of course they should pick up all the expense,” Trump said in an interview with CNN in May 2016. “Why are we paying for this?”
Asked if the president stood by his assertion during a background briefing for reporters, a senior administration official said it would be up to the Japanese people to decide, but that the U. would seek continued burden sharing as defense systems to protect Japan were updated.
Trump has also hit out at Japan over a bilateral trade deficit that hit $69 billion last year, the U.’s second-largest behind China. Japan has sought to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that Trump withdrew from shortly after taking office.
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