U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has wrapped up a visit to Guam which included a high-level meeting this weekend with Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono to discuss a growing concern between the two allies:  Chinese incursions in the Indo Pacific region.

Secretary Esper and Minister Kono met saturday afternoon at Andersen Air Force Base. In his opening remarks, Esper had high praise for Japan.

"The enduring relationship between the United States and Japan, rooted in our shared values and interests, has been vital to the security of our nations and our alliance is the cornerstone of the international rules based order," Esper said. "Despite the challenge of a global pandemic and the efforts of some to undermine the longstanding rules and norms, we remain dedicated to preserving a free and open Indo Pacific region working with our partners and allies such as Japan."

He then issued a stern warning to China, whose incursions in the indo pacific were the focal point of the meeting.

"Today I look forward to discussing with you China's maligned behavior in the region under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party, including the intimidation and coercion of its neighbors and its continued aggression in the East and South China seas," Esper said. "We remain steadfast in our opposition to Beijing's destabilizing activities in the region which included attempts to undermine Japan's administration of the Senkaku islands which fall under article five of our mutual security treaty."

Minister kono responded in his opening statement, without mentioning China specifically, that Japan, the U.S. and other like-minded countries must join together in an alliance in a post COVID world.

"The past six months since I saw you last the world has been changing quite drastically, not just because of COVID-19 but because there are some attempt to change the status quo by force and coercion, and some countries are trying to apply cutting edge technology to military use and we need to be very carefully monitoring the situation and need to build a posture to prevent any attempt to change the status quo," he said. 

 

Earlier, Esper toured various local military sites, including Camp Blaz where some 5,000 marines from Okinawa will be transferred. Kono said as foreign affairs chairman in the Japan parliament in 2009 he led the bilateral agreement to fund the marine relocation. Esper also met with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero. She said they discussed among other issues, the return of excess federal land to build a modern medical complex.