Esper Makes China Unspoken Threat to International Order in V-J Day Ceremony
From the deck of the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper made oblique references to China as the new threat to international order exactly 75 years after World War II in the Pacific ended with the Japanese signing of unconditional surrender aboard the battleship.
“We built relationships with like-minded nations based on reciprocal trade, not predatory economics, based on respect for the sovereignty of all countries, not a strategy of ‘might makes right,’” Esper said at the V-J Day ceremony honoring World War II veterans.
While refraining from mentioning China by name, Esper repeated language reserved for China on the last day of a Pacific swing that aimed to strengthen and build American alliances to contain Chinese aggression.
“Today, in the face of new challenges to this free and open order, we are working to build an even broader coalition of partners,” Esper said of the United States’s vital Pacific alliances with Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
The defense secretary also noted India, which has had recent border scuffles with China and took part in a joint naval exercise with the U.S. in July. Esper also referenced the Pacific island nations, which would provide vital access to the region for American troops in the event of a conflict with China. (Read more from “Esper Makes China Unspoken Threat to International Order in V-J Day Ceremony” HERE)
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