by: Senator Christopher A .Coons (D-DE)
Washington, D.C. - April 23, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) held a press availability in Tokyo, where they met with senior officials this week to reinforce the U.S.-Japan alliance and discuss ways to advance our shared interests and values.
The Senators met with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Bill Hagerty and members of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, to discuss ways to strengthen and deepen the partnership between the U.S. and Japan. They were briefed by Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider, Commander, U.S. Forces Japan, about the role of U.S. troops in Japan and U.S. military strategy in the Indo-Pacific. They also met with senior Japanese government officials including National Security Advisor Shotaro Yachi, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and Minister of Finance Taro Aso. The two Senators also met with senior Japanese business officials from Keidanren, a top Japanese business association.
“I do think that the relationship between the United States and Japan is rooted not just in shared economic and security interests, but is rooted in core shared values. We value a free press, we value elections, which just happened here…We value human rights, we value the rule of law. These are defining characteristics of our political systems, and those are not common values that we share with the People's Republic of China. And so, if Japan is in a bridge relationship, a positive relationship with China, that may well help the United States and China also reach a more positive relationship,” said Senator Coons.
“We have come here not only to learn, but to reinforce that our relationship and alliance with Japan is the bedrock of our alliance in this region -- it is the bedrock of stability in this region, and we just want to make sure that we are poised to partner with Japan as we move forward to continue not only the alliance, but to meet the challenges in this region, always recognizing that as allies, we can be much more effective together,” said Senator Hassan.
Excerpts from the press availability are below:
Senator Coons Opening Remarks: Thank you. Thanks for a chance to join press today. Senator Hassan and I have had a remarkably busy and productive day. Last night, we had dinner with Ambassador Hagerty, four members of the Diet from three different parties. Given that it was an important election day, we were particularly grateful for their attendance. Today we began, in a briefing with General Schneider, who is the Commander for American Forces in Japan, and then a broader conversation about regional security concerns. And we had a series of meetings with National Security Advisor Yachi, with Foreign Minister Kono, with Minister of Finance Aso, and Defense Minister Iwaya. And, across those four conversations with senior administration leaders, we expressed our deep appreciation for the significance of the U.S.-Japan alliance and partnership. Our hopes for a prompt and positive resolution to trade negotiations, our interests in their opinions and views about the regional challenges that we face, and that we address specific issues with each particular industry. We've just come from a meeting with a number of business leaders from Keidanren, and across all of these conversations, we talked about some of the demographic, and budgetary, and innovation challenges that came from both of our countries, and we had an opportunity to express our appreciation for the ways in which our seven-decade long alliance with Japan continues to promote security and prosperity for all Americans.
Senator Hassan Opening Remarks: Thank you all for being here. It has been a very productive trip so far, and we've appreciated the hospitality, but also the time and energy the participants in our meetings have provided to all of us. We have come here not only to learn, but to reinforce that our relationship and alliance with Japan is the bedrock of our alliance in this region -- it is the bedrock of stability in this region, and we just want to make sure that we are poised to partner with Japan as we move forward to continue not only the alliance, but to meet the challenges in this region, always recognizing that as allies, we can be much more effective together. We have talked about everything from the various geopolitical challenges to economic issues like trade and, again, had the great opportunity to reinforce the values that make us the allies that we are, the respect for rule of law, for free speech, for democracy, and the importance of those values to the continuation and strength of this partnership.
Senator Coons on CODEL: We travel from here to South Korea and China, and think it's particularly important that we begin this regional engagement here in Japan, because of the importance of this foundational relationship. So, thank you for your questions.
Senator Coons on North Korea: I think what's important is that there is a consistent message from the United States and Japan, which is that we expect Kim Jong-Un to keep the commitment that he made, both privately and publicly, to full, irreversible, and verifiable denuclearization. And we need to see real progress on defining the terms: What is the process? How will there be an accounting for the nuclear enrichment and weapons manufacturing, and the missile program that is not known with any specificity? And then, what will the progress be towards it? The Hanoi summit was, I think, a great disappointment in that Kim Jong-Un, the DPRK delegation, did not come forward with any new proposals that were significant. They somehow expected the relationship between President Trump and Leader Kim to produce a dramatic result, when it was exactly the same proposal that's been made by previous leaders to North Korea, to a positive effect. So, I think -- I don't mean to speak for you, but I think we supported President Trump's decision to walk away from the negotiating table, and we discussed this in several of our meetings today. I think the United States and Japan are closely aligned on saying that sanctions relief will come only after significant movement, dramatic movement, that moves us toward denuclearization on the peninsula. I will say that I hope to raise this issue both in South Korea and in China, and given the significance of the relationship between DPRK and China, I would welcome seeing more active engagement in terms of the imposition of sanctions on North Korea. I think they will only take significant steps toward denuclearization if they feel they have no alternative.
Senator Coons on North and South Korea: I think the Moon administration has made encouraging positive progress. There have been a number of visits, leader-to-leader visits, between North and South Korea. There have been some positive steps in terms of reducing tension in the DMZ, and beginning to discuss exchange of families and contacts, and so forth. But, speaking for myself, I tend to be much closer to the Japanese view that we should not be making significant concessions, in terms of sanctions, until there have been demonstrable, irreversible steps by North Korea. And if you look over the previous two administrations in North Korea, they have followed exactly this path before -- making grand promises of full denuclearization, and then failing to make any significant steps at all in that direction. I do think, just to be fair, I do think it was a positive step that President Trump, in his Singapore summit with Kim Jong-Un, secured the remains of 55 Americans killed in the Korean War. But there are thousands more unaccounted for. I know that that is important to those families, but there are many other issues, such as accountability for Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. There are many issues that are sources of enduring tension in the relationship between North Korea and the United States, and North Korea and Japan, North Korea and South Korea. My hope is that with more regular consultation between the three parties -- Japan, South Korea, and the United States -- we can avoid any surprises at the negotiating table. We can have more aligned priorities. But, for myself, I am much closer to the Japanese position which is -- the burden is on North Korea now. They've made encouraging pronouncements, but have taken no significant actions that are irreversible or verifiable.
Senator Coons on China and Japan: I will say that I think it is a good thing for China and Japan to have improved relations. I think having tense relations is not constructive. My impression is that Japan has had to deal with significant incursions into its airspace by Russia, particularly over Habomai, northern territories, related territories. And, in previous years, there were significant potential conflicts in the territorial wars of Japan. And that some of that contact tension with China has reduced, and some of the public posture has become more positive. I think that's a good thing. I do think that the relationship between the United States and Japan is rooted not just in shared economic and security interests, but is rooted in core shared values. We value a free press, we value elections, which just happened here yesterday. We value human rights, we value the rule of law. These are defining characteristics of our political systems, and those are not common values that we share with the People's Republic of China. And so, if Japan is in a bridge relationship, a positive relationship with China, that may well help the United States and China also reach a more positive relationship. one of the big unanswered questions for this century is: In what areas will the United States and China cooperate? Can we find areas of genuine cooperation? In what areas will we compete? And, how can we prepare for, but avoid, conflict? There are many in our country now who are speaking of the inevitability of conflict with China. I do not think conflict with China is inevitable. But, I think we will have to manage our competition in a way that gives room for both countries to be successful, and I think we need to try harder to find areas of cooperation.
Senator Hassan on Japan and China: I agree that improved relationships are a good thing. Again, it is our values that make us the allies we are, Japan and the United States. And, there are, even with improved relationships there are -- obviously, between Japan and China -- there are obviously some concerns and challenges that any democracy would have when it thinks about its relationship with China, and China's influences and actions in the world. So, I think we will continue to be united to stand up for our values when that is necessary to confront and counter China's behavior.
Senator Coons on North Korea: If I understood your question, it's not just "what are the issues we'll bring up in conversations in China," but, what are the issues specific to North Korea?" The United States is grateful that our fellow permanent member of the U.N. Security Council has been implementing sanctions against North Korea. But, we will look for closer cooperation on fully implementing the whole range of sanctions, both U.N. and bilateral sanctions that may be required to provide the incentives for Kim Jong-Un to take the decision to fully and finally verifiably denuclearize. I think our interest areas aligned here. I think China has a great deal to lose if the Kim Jong-Un regime were to collapse. I think the impact on China would be very negative. I think the risks to the world, to China, the United States, Japan, and the whole world, of nuclear proliferation from North Korea is particularly great. We have seen a history of North Korea sharing technology with other regimes that are outside the international order. And, I think, as countries that have confronted terrorism, the United States and China have a shared interest in preventing proliferation of missile technology, nuclear technology, to non-state actors and to countries who do not participate in the rule of law and of order. China was a good partner with United States in crafting the Joint Comprehensive Protocol -- the JCPOA -- with regards to Iran's illicit nuclear weapons program. My purpose in conversations in China about North Korea is to both express thanks for the work we've done together, but also concern that they not relieve sanctions to early, because the public position of China and the United States is that we support full denuclearization of the peninsula, that will only be achieved if China reinforces the view that Japan has and the United States has, which is that the Kim regime can and should have security guarantees. The United States does not seek regime change. We do not seek to continue or extend the conflict, so the time is at hand for us to reach peace in the Korean peninsula, and having a closer, tighter, better alliance with China in this is, I think, the only way for us to resolve it.
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