JAPAN TO HAVE GREATER INTERNATIONAL ROLE

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, far right, and U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, second from right, shake hands with Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, far left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida after a joint press conference in New York City, April 27, 2015. DoD screen shot.

Carter: U.S, Japan Defense Guidelines ‘Break New Ground’
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

NEW YORK, April 27, 2015 – American and Japanese national security leaders unveiled the new guidelines for U.S.-Japan defense cooperation today, saying the new rules will promote peace and stability not only in the region, but worldwide.
Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Fumio Kishida and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced the results of the Security Consultative Committee meeting here today.

Known as the “2-plus-2” meetings, the discussions covered all aspects of the U.S.-Japanese alliance, but the revision of the defense guidelines -- the first since 1997 -- took precedence.

The guidelines lay out how the United States and Japan will work together, and come after the Japanese government reinterpreted their constitution to allow a greater international role, including greater military cooperation.

Japanese leaders see the guidelines as strengthening the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific. “Though we live in different hemispheres, at opposite ends of the globe, the United States could ask for no better friend and ally than Japan,” Kerry said during a news conference.

He added that the U.S. alliance with Japan has been the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in Asia since the end of World War II.

“The guidelines will enhance Japan’s security, deter threats and contribute to regional peace and stability,” the secretary of state said. “The United States and Japan stand together in calling for disputes in the region to be resolved peacefully. We reject any suggestion that freedom of navigation, overflight and other lawful uses of the sea and airspace are privileges granted by big states to small ones.”

Guidelines Fit Japan’s Expanded Role

Carter stressed that the revisions were a necessary process, given how much has changed in the world since 1997. Both the United States and Japan have new capabilities, and new threats have emerged, including a whole new domain of warfare in cyberspace, he said.

“The Asia-Pacific region has changed,” the defense secretary said. “Its weight in world affairs has increased, and that is reflected in the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific including its expression in our own defense capabilities.”

Carter noted that Japan is taking on a bigger role in world affairs. “These guidelines allow us to modernize the U.S.-Japan alliance at the same time, by breaking new ground on existing areas of military cooperation and helping us open new areas of military cooperation both in the Asia-Pacific and around the globe,” he said.

Carter and Nakatani will continue their consultations in Washington tomorrow with discussion on establishing a bilateral space cooperation working group. “The approval of the defense guidelines mark an important step in the rebalance’s next phase,” Carter said. “There will be many more.”

Kishida said through an interpreter that the revisions reflect “the enhancement of solidarity and the expansion of cooperation between Japan and the United States.”

The guidelines are the logical outgrowth of Japan’s new policy of “proactive contribution to peace based on the principle of international cooperation and the rebalance policy on the U.S. side,” the foreign minister said. “The new guidelines will enhance synergies of both policies.”
Other Business

Other business in the meetings included the U.S. affirmation that the Senkaku Islands are territories of Japan and fall under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.

They also stressed the importance of cooperation in ballistic missile defense. This includes basing two more U.S. ballistic missile defense destroyers in Japan and continuing deployment of a second X-band radar in the country.

The two sides discussed ways to expand tri-lateral and multi-lateral cooperation. This includes Australia and South Korea and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The ministers also talked about the realignment of U.S. forces based in Japan including relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on the island of Okinawa.

DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER REPORTS PROGRESS IN TALKS WITH JAPANESE OFFICIALS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  Secretary of Defense Ash Carter holds a press conference at Yokota Air Base in Japan. Carter visited service members and their families there to observe the Month of the Military Child. Carter is on a visit to the U.S. Pacific Command area of responsibility to strengthen and modernize U.S. alliances in the region. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Sean Hurt  

In Japan, Carter Reports Progress on Major Issues
By Cheryl Pellerin

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2015 – In Yokota yesterday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter reported progress in talks with Japanese officials on the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines for Defense Cooperation and on a proposed regional regulatory and investment treaty called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Speaking with reporters who are traveling with Carter on his first official trip as defense secretary to Northeast Asia, the secretary discussed the purpose of his visit to Japan and progress made on longstanding issues.

“The purpose of my visit was to prepare the way for … the so-called ‘2+2’ meeting, which is the meeting of foreign ministers and Secretary of State John Kerry and also the defense ministers, which occurs later this month,” Carter said.
The 2+2 meeting itself is a preparatory meeting in advance of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit here to meet with President Barack Obama.
U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines

“I had the opportunity to make progress and to discuss two very important things, Carter said, referring to the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines for Defense Cooperation and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP.

In October, the United States and Japan jointly released an interim report of ongoing revisions of the U.S.-Japan defense cooperation guidelines, according to the U.S. State Department’s website.

The revised guidelines, expected to be finalized by the end of the year, will establish an expanded and more flexible framework for alliance cooperation to ensure the peace and security of Japan under any circumstances, from peacetime to contingencies, the website said, and to promote a stable, peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific.

Historic Moment

“This is an historic moment for the U.S.-Japan relationship,” Carter said. “Japan is … changing its security posture in important and truly historic ways and we, accordingly, are changing our relationship to evolve with them.”

The secretary said the update of the guidelines is significant because it opens new possibilities for the United States and Japan to work together in Northeast Asia.

“We can work in new domains like space and cyberspace, and we can cooperate in new ways, both regionally and globally,” he added.

Carter said the agreement has many dimensions and represents a modernization of the alliance.

Lasting Security Relationship

“To me it shows how lasting a security relationship with the United States is,” the secretary added. “We've had it [with Japan] for many decades and of course it's been instrumental in keeping peace and stability in this part of the world.”
Such stability has led to the uplifting of many people economically and politically in the region, Carter said. “And that hasn't happened automatically,” he added. “It’s happened because of the United States' military role out here.”
Carter said the TPP is an important part of the U.S.-Japan relationship and relationships among many countries in the region.

The treaty, he said, “reinforces that the strategic approach to this part of the world is not just a military matter. It's economic and political as well [and] it's extremely important.”

Missile Defense Preparations

In response to a question about North Korea’s firing of two short-range surface-to-air missiles off its west coast earlier today, Carter called it a reminder of how tense things are on the Korean Peninsula.

“That’s the reason I'm going to talk to our own commanders and troops, and very importantly to the government of South Korea, which like Japan is a longstanding, very staunch ally out here,” he said.

The show of North Korean aggression, Carter added, “reinforces the missile-defense preparations we've long had on the Korean Peninsula and have here.”
More broadly than missiles, Carter said the missile launch is a reminder of how dangerous things are on the Korean Peninsula, and how a highly ready force in support of a strong ally is needed to keep the peace.

“That’s what we'll be talking about and visiting with the South Korean government about over the next couple of days,” Carter said, “the health of our alliance and the importance of our alliance to peace and security on the peninsula.”

RECENT US. AIR FORCE PHOTOS

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE 

Twelve Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers, from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron, taxi onto the runway during Exercise Forceful Tiger on Kadena Air Base, Japan, April 1, 2015. During the aerial exercise, the Stratotankers delivered 800,000 pounds of fuel to approximately 50 aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marcus Morris).

Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy, fly over Europe on March 20, 2015. The aircraft were participating in a flying training deployment with the Estonian air force and also participating in additional, unrelated training with the Finnish and Swedish air forces. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christine Griffiths)

AMBASSADOR SEPULVEDA'S REMARKS ON THE DIGITAL ECONOMY OPPORTUNITIES FOR U.S. AND JAPAN

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
03/30/2015 02:35 PM EDT
Trade and the Digital Economy: Opportunities for U.S.-Japan Global Leadership
Remarks
Ambassador Daniel A. Sepulveda
Deputy Assistant Secretary and U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
Brookings Institute
Washington, DC
March 30, 2015
As prepared

Three billion people are connected to the Internet today. And trillions of devices are set up to join them in the Internet of Things. Together, those connections and the data and economic activity that they generate constitute the global digital economy. Our trade policy and other bilateral efforts can and should enable its growth.

America and Japan are leaders in the global digital economy, not just as producers and consumers, but as advocates for the policies that enable its existence and continued development. Our partnership is strong because we both believe that promoting continued global connectivity, with as little friction as possible injected into the transfer of ideas and information, holds the potential to help lift people out of poverty, formalize the informal economy around the world, increase the efficiency of supply chains, increase the productivity of workers, raise wages, and improve people’s lives.

We both believe that the promotion of the global digital economy is an enabler of human progress. It forms a foundational platform for broadly shared prosperity.

So what does that mean for our trade policy and why should advocates for the global Internet support our work in this space, including Trade Promotion Authority and the TPP? The answer is this: the value that trade agreements can add to the strengthening of the global Internet as a platform for progress lies in language that America and Japan are championing. The goal is to establish a joint commitment among signatories to policy that encourages private sector investments in the networks that enable the transmission of data across borders by protecting cloud computing against data localization for example and provisions preserving the free flow of information over the communications networks that connect people and nations. These are two critical elements to the future of the Internet.

Those provisions applied to as many markets as an agreement like the TPP will cover can create the certainty of a safe space for the Internet to continue to grow that covers millions of people and can set an example for the rest of the world to follow.

Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, has made the argument that, "America’s trade negotiating objectives must reflect the fact that the Internet represents the shipping lane for 21st Century goods and services… Trade in digital goods and services is growing and driving economic growth and job creation all around the country. U.S digital exports are beating imports by large margins, but outdated trade rules threaten this growth by providing opportunities for protectionist policies overseas. The U.S. has the opportunity to establish new trade rules that preserve the Internet as a platform to share ideas and for expanding commerce..."

Senator Wyden is absolutely correct. He is widely acknowledged as one of the strongest champions for the open Internet in our Congress and his work on trade is consistent with that body of work.

Our pending agreements with nations in the Pacific community will establish rules for the preservation of those virtual shipping lanes as enablers of the transport of services and ideas, allowing startups and the voices of everyday people to challenge incumbent power in markets and ideas.

We know that both old and new American businesses, small and large alike, are dependent on the global Internet as the enabler of access to previously unreachable consumers. In the U.S. alone, American Internet companies and their global community of users contribute over $141 billion in annual revenue to the overall U.S. GDP, simultaneously employing 6.6 million people. And the Internet is not simply about the World Wide Web, it is the communications platform for managing global supply chains, distributing services, and acquiring the market information necessary to succeed anywhere.

As Ambassador Froman has said, “Trade, done right, is part of the solution, not part of the problem.” It is, when done right, an enabler of the values America holds dear. And that idea is neither new nor partisan.

It was Woodrow Wilson who said, “The program of the world's peace, therefore, is our program; and that program, the only possible program, as we see it, is this” and he listed his fourteen points. Among them was number three: “The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.”

It was Franklin Roosevelt who asked the New Deal Congress for the first grant of trade negotiating authority.

In his remarks at the signing of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, it was JFK who said, “Increased economic activity resulting from increased trade will provide more job opportunities for our workers. Our industry, our agriculture, our mining will benefit from increased export opportunities as other nations agree to lower their tariffs. Increased exports and imports will benefit our ports, steamship lines, and airlines as they handle an increased amount of trade. Lowering of our tariffs will provide an increased flow of goods for our American consumers. Our industries will be stimulated by increased export opportunities and by freer competition with the industries of other nations for an even greater effort to develop an efficient, economic, and productive system. The results can bring a dynamic new era of growth.”

If he were alive today, he would have also cited what increased trade could do for the global Internet.

It is fully consistent with the sentiments of these giants in our tradition, from Wilson to Kennedy, that President Obama most recently stated, “Twenty-first century businesses, including small businesses, need to sell more American products overseas. Today, our businesses export more than ever, and exporters tend to pay their workers higher wages. But as we speak, China wants to write the rules for the world’s fastest-growing region. That would put our workers and our businesses at a disadvantage. Why would we let that happen? We should write those rules. We should level the playing field. That’s why I’m asking both parties to give me trade promotion authority to protect American workers, with strong new trade deals from Asia to Europe that aren’t just free, but are also fair. It’s the right thing to do.”

Preservation of these ideals is and should remain a bipartisan and broadly held goal. It is critical to our future and contained within the language we are asking Congress to approve.

Beyond trade policy and the critical provisions in the TPP for the future of the Internet, America and Japan can and are working together to ensure that our domestic digital initiatives are both enabling the digital economy and leveraging it for positive purposes. We conduct annual dialogues on the subject and share information and ideas on issues ranging from how we use communications for disaster response, how we encourage competition, and how we are working to sensibly construct rules for the collection, use, and distribution of data in our markets in a way that protects privacy while enabling innovation.

In the multilateral space and of most direct relevance to the work of my office, American and Japan are strong partners in multilateral forums and negotiations where we work together to ensure that we preserve the decentralized, multistakeholder system of Internet governance. Last year, our two governments partnered at the International Telecommunication Union’s Plenipotentiary treaty conference to protect the Internet’s existing system of voluntary protocols and multistakeholder-led governance against initiatives by other nations to centralize control over the Internet in the hands of governments at the UN. At the same time we partnered at the NETMundial conference in Brazil, the Internet Governance Forum, and other institutions and gatherings in an effort to encourage and facilitate greater participation and representation from the developing world in the multistakeholder system of Internet governance.

Together, we will continue to focus the world on expanding connectivity, keeping digital trade routes open, and ensuring that we continue to expand the digital economy and make it more inclusive. These are valuable, long term efforts and we have the kinds of bonds between friends and allies that will help us succeed.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your questions.

REMARKS BY ASSISTANT SECRETARY ROSE ON U.S.-JAPAN SPACE COOPERATION AND SECURITY IN ASIA-PACIFIC

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Security in the Asia Pacific Region and U.S.-Japan Space Cooperation
Remarks
Frank A. Rose
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance
Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University
Washington, DC
February 13, 2015

Panel Details

9:30 – 10:50 am
Session 1: “Security in the Asia Pacific Region and U.S.-Japan Space Cooperation”
Moderator: Victoria Samson, Secure World Foundation
Yasuaki Hashimoto, National Institute for Defense Studies
Yuichiro Nagai, University of Tokyo
Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas Loverro, U.S. Department of Defense
Assistant Secretary Frank Rose, U.S. Department of State

Introduction

Thanks to you all for having me this morning. I’m so pleased to be up here with my Japanese colleagues as well as Doug Loverro from the Pentagon. I’d also like to thank the Elliot School and Scott Pace, as well as co-sponsors PARI at the University of Tokyo and the Mitsubishi Research Institute, for organizing this important discussion.

Security in the Asia Pacific

This morning’s panel is particularly well timed, as I’ve recently returned from Japan and will be heading back to the region in just over a week for the U.S.-Japan Space Security Dialogue in Tokyo.

Space cooperation between the United States and Japan has a long history, built on the extensive civil and scientific cooperation among NASA, NOAA, and other U.S. agencies and their Japanese counterparts.

And while U.S.-Japan space security cooperation is relatively new, Japan has taken a critical leadership role in those efforts.

Our discussions on these issues have grown into one of the most important relationships we have with our Allies and partners on outer space security issues.

My work in the region, particularly when it comes to outer space cooperation and security, has really shown me the increasing role Japan is playing to address both regional and global security challenges.

The rebalance in the Asia-Pacific region reflects our recognition that the United States must broaden and deepen our engagement there at all levels, including addressing emerging security challenges such as the long-term sustainability, stability, safety, and security of the space environment.

It’s been a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. But as Secretary Kerry will tell you, extraordinary transformations are the norm in the Asia-Pacific region today.

Strengthening the U.S.-Japan Alliance

The United States-Japan Alliance has long been the cornerstone of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Our partnership with Asia-Pacific nations not only enhances the national security of our respective countries, but also strengthens strategic stability in the region as well as international peace and security globally.

We recognize the need to enhance our Alliance with Japan in wide-ranging areas of common interest in order to address the changing security environment. Part of our effort to strengthen and modernize our Alliance is through enhanced space cooperation.

Cooperation on space security is now part of the Common Strategic Objectives of the Alliance, and bilateral cooperation on civil and security space was recognized in the outcomes of summits between President Obama and former Prime Minister Noda in 2012 and again with Prime Minister Abe in 2014.

Recognizing the need to confront emerging security challenges and update the alliance for the 21st century, we are currently working closely with Japan to ensure that space security cooperation is included for the first time in the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines, which provide a general framework and policy direction for the roles and missions of the two countries and ways of cooperation and coordination.

Cooperation on space security has expanded alongside the President’s rebalance to Asia. What began as a discussion of threats and possibilities for collaboration has turned into a full-range of cooperative efforts bilaterally, regionally, and multilaterally.

Bilateral Space Cooperation

Recognizing the numerous opportunities for cooperation on space issues, the United States and Japan have held several space security dialogues in the last five years, in addition to ongoing civil space dialogues.

In fact, due to the success and robustness of our space security and civil space dialogues, our governments have also established a Comprehensive Dialogue on Space at the request of President Obama and former Prime Minister Noda, in order to address the bilateral relationship at a strategic level and to ensure a whole-of-government approach to space matters. We have held two Comprehensive Dialogues to date, with a third meeting to be held later this year in Japan.

Through these dialogues, we not only discuss possible avenues of cooperation and exchange space policies, we also have made tremendous progress in furthering our tangible space security cooperation.

In regards to improving our space situational awareness – specifically, improving our shared ability to rapidly detect, warn of, characterize, and attribute natural and man-made disturbances to space systems – in 2013 the United States signed a Space Situational Awareness (SSA) information sharing agreement with Japan.

Building on the foundation of that agreement, we are also exploring the possibility of establishing “two-way” SSA sharing with Japan. We hope that as our space surveillance capabilities improve, we will be able to notify satellite operators earlier and with greater accuracy in order to prevent collisions in space.

We are also looking at how we can expand cooperation on utilizing space systems for maritime domain awareness. To that end, the United States and Japan held the first “Use of Space for Maritime Domain Awareness” table top exercise last year.

We have also worked hard to expand our “people-to-people” cooperation. Between Japanese visits to Washington and my own visits to Tokyo, I find myself engaging with my Japanese counterparts nearly every other month.

Members of the Japanese Ministry of Defense attend U.S. Air Force space training out in Colorado Springs, and a member of my own team at AVC, along with a U.S. airman, has just finished a year-long study on space policy within the Japanese government.

Such cooperation has also produced great successes in the academic and NGO communities, such as the excellent work done here at the Space Policy Institute.

Multilateral Cooperation

We also work closely together to cooperate and to coordinate positions on multilateral space issues. We hold an annual trilateral space security dialogue with Australia and Japan to coordinate our positions on these space security issues.

Our joint efforts to advance the work of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) Working Group on Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities (LTS) continue to make progress.

Perhaps one of the most beneficial transparency and confidence-building measures, or TCBMs, for ensuring sustainability and security in space could be the adoption of an International Code of Conduct to prevent mishaps, misperceptions, and mistrust in space. A code would establish guidelines, or rules of the road, to reduce the risks of debris-generating events, including collisions.

The United States is working with the European Union and other spacefaring nations, like Japan, to advance such a Code and in the Asia-Pacific region. Both Japan and Australia have also endorsed its development.

Conclusion

In his State of the Union, President Obama spoke of the need to modernize our alliances in the Asia Pacific to meet common international challenges.

In his State of the Union, President Obama spoke of the need to modernize our alliances in the Asia Pacific to meet common international challenges.

With the Government of Japan as a strong partner in space security, we are working together to do just that. Thanks very much, and I look forward to the discussion.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON MURDER OF KENJI GOTO BY ISIL

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
ISIL Murder of Japanese Journalist Kenji Goto
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
January 31, 2015

The United States condemns ISIL’s vicious murder of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. We extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife, his family, and his loved ones, as well as to the people of Japan.

The barbaric killing of Kenji Goto, and of Haruna Yukawa before him, shows again ISIL’s brutality and extremist agenda.

The United States knows this pain on a personal level born of our own experience.

We share the sorrow and continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our ally Japan in confronting terrorism. We commend Japan’s support for those in the region who have been displaced by ISIL, the Syrian regime, and other militant groups.

Japan’s generous assistance to vulnerable communities fully reflects its commitment to international peace and development.

JAPAN, AUSTRALIA PROVIDING MAINTENANCE SITES FOR F-35

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

An F-35C Lightning II joint strike fighter carrier variant prepares to launch from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the Pacific Ocean, Nov. 6, 2014. U.S. Navy photo, courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Andy Wolfe . 

Japan, Australia to Provide F-35 Maintenance Sites in Pacific Region
By Claudette Roulo
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2014 – Japan and Australia will be sharing maintenance and upgrade duties for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter based or operating in the Pacific region, the program executive officer for the aircraft announced today.

F-35 heavy air frame maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade capabilities will be provided by Japan in the northern Pacific and Australia in the southern Pacific, Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan told reporters. Both countries are expected to have their facilities operational no later than 2018.

Initial heavy engine maintenance capability will be provided by Australia by early 2018, he said, and Japan will provide additional capability 3 to 5 years later.

Once Japan’s heavy engine capability is achieved, Bogdan said, the program office will look at the footprint and distribution of F-35's in the Pacific to “see if these decisions are still appropriate and if we have to make any kind of adjustments in terms of the assignment capabilities and moving forward.”
Similar Process in Europe

A similar process will take place in Europe, and all of the assignments will be reviewed every three to five years, he added.

Over the next two years, assignments for other components, systems and repair capabilities will be determined for both Europe and the Pacific, Bogdan noted.
Japan’s final assembly and check-out facility will be quite different from the facilities in Italy and Fort Worth, Texas, the general said.

“Both the plant at Fort Worth and the plant in Italy are expansive in terms of distance on the ground,” he said, but Japan is building vertically. Manufacturing will take place on a number of different floors, Bogdan said, and the aircraft will move through the facility on elevators as it is assembled.

Efficiencies learned through experience at the Fort Worth facility are being incorporated into the Japanese facility as it is constructed, he said.

Just like in Europe, he said, Japan is responsible for the funding and construction of their facility, which will be operated by a Japanese company. Lockheed-Martin will oversee technical aspects of production in Italy and Japan, Bogdan noted, and the U.S. government will oversee security.

Factors Drove Decisions

Geography and operational necessity played a considerable role in the Defense Department’s final decision to place air frame facilities in two locations, the general said.

Seven thousand miles separate the two primary areas where F-35s will be concentrated in the Pacific, Bogdan said. Moving entire aircraft over that distance would require significant amounts of fuel and other support, he said, making it uneconomical. And, he said, “Quite often, some of those airplanes that have to be inducted into a depot are going in there because they need upgrades or there's something wrong.”

Operationally, it didn’t make sense to introduce a long transportation delay into the MRO&U process, the general said.

“If you're having airplanes in the northern Pacific that need a rapid upgrade to respond to a new threat, having to move them 7,000 miles to do that mod in Australia, or vice versa, has an operational impact, because the war fighter won't get the airplane as quickly as he needed to,” he explained.

Geography wasn’t as serious an initial consideration for engines, Bogdan said.
Easier, Quicker, Cheaper

“You can break the engines down into modules, and when you break them down into modules, transportation is much easier, quicker and cheaper,” he said.
As more aircraft arrive in the Pacific theater, Australia’s heavy engine maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrades capability will eventually be supplemented by Japan, the general said.

“Bringing a Japanese capability online after that represents the fact that as more airplanes come to the Pacific over time, we want to make sure we have enough throughput to get all the engines done in the region in a timely way.”

“This is another example of the continuing expansion of global sustainment opportunities for the international F-35 community,” Bogdan said in a release that accompanied today’s announcement.

“The F-35 international users will remain a vital part of the support structure of the program,” he said. “Their continuing participation is critical to driving down cost and getting the best value for the F-35 team and improving the strength of the global sustainment base for many years to come."

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS IN BEIJING, CHINA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Press Availability in Beijing, China
Press Availability
John Kerry
Secretary of State
China National Convention Center
Beijing, China
November 8, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. I want to begin by thanking our Chinese hosts for their very, very warm welcome and for the depth and breadth of the discussions that we’ve been able to have at APEC this year.

This is my ninth trip to Asia and the Asia Pacific in the 21 months since I have served as Secretary of State. And I have returned again and again to this region for one simple reason: The United States is a Pacific nation, and we take our enduring interests here very seriously, our responsibilities likewise. We know that America’s security and prosperity are closely linked to the Asia Pacific, and that is why President Obama began the rebalance to Asia in 2009. It’s why he has asked me to redouble my own efforts in the region over the course of the next two years.

I’ve had a number of very productive bilateral meetings in the course of the last day here on the sidelines of the APEC conference with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China and other Asia Pacific allies and partners, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand. And both the Japanese and Chinese foreign ministers briefed me on the progress that they announced in their bilateral relations, and we, the United States, very much welcomed the reduction in tension between Asia’s two largest economies. I look forward to continuing these discussions and to deepening our partnerships with APEC economies when President Obama arrives on Monday for the APEC Leaders’ meetings here in Beijing. Excuse me.

To ensure that the partnerships that we talk about here at APEC are able to endure, it is really essential that we reach agreement on the rules of the road. And we need to do so through multilateral institutions where all voices can be heard. APEC is essential to upholding the rules-based system throughout the Asia Pacific. It is the best way to ensure that all of our economies, big and small economies, have a voice. And I am very pleased with the progress that we made this year on the regional economic integration and on strengthening connectivity and infrastructure development. The United States is very committed to working with our APEC partners in order to build stable regional economic order based on rules and norms that are reinforced by institutions. Our goal is to remove barriers to trade and investment so that businesses in all APEC economies can grow and create jobs and compete with other companies and other countries on an equal basis. APEC has and will continue to play a critical role in guaranteeing that.

Today, we also made important progress with China and other APEC economies on promoting women’s economic empowerment, combating corruption, supporting educational opportunities across borders, and advancing our commitment to clean energy. First, we launched the APEC Women and the Economy Dashboard. The dashboard will be a measure of progress across APEC economies on key issues for women’s economic empowerment. And it will allow us the ability to be able to measure education, leadership positions, opportunities for employment, all the different things that contribute to the ability to increase women’s empowerment in the economy. We also launched a Women’s Entrepreneurship in APEC Network. And that will link women entrepreneurs and business owners to each other and to supply chains all across the region. Frankly, that is good for business, it is good for workers, and it is good for all of our economies.

Second, we deepened our partnership with APEC economies on combating corruption. The principles that we adopted are clear and they are compelling. We are determined to prevent, detect, and effectively prosecute foreign bribery. We’re providing guidance to our businesses on how they could help prevent and detect corruption. And we are enhancing our law enforcement cooperation and we’re promoting the adoption of APEC business codes of ethics for small and medium enterprises. And we believe that this cooperation is a major step forward. Corruption not only creates an unfair playing field, it not only distorts economic relationships, but corruption also steals from the people of every country the belief that the system can work for everybody. So it is important that systems are transparent and accountable, and ultimately, that people at every level have an ability to have confidence that that system is working for everybody with the same set of rules.

We also made progress in education and clean energy. We launched an APEC scholarship, an internship initiative, to provide more educational opportunities for students in all APEC economies. We committed to doubling the share of renewables in the region’s energy banks by the year 2030. And we reaffirmed our commitment to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. I can’t emphasize enough how critical it is for APEC to lead the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We at last have an opportunity to put ourselves on the path to a clean energy future, and that is a path that is more essential than ever because of the urgent threat of global climate change. The solution to climate change is good energy policy. And we believe today, we helped in APEC to move APEC economies to a commitment in that direction.

These efforts complement and reinforce one another. Curtailing corruption makes our marketplace more efficient and more fair. Cutting fossil fuel subsidies creates a cleaner environment and a stronger economy. Enhanced opportunities for women affect and advance the cause of social justice and prosperity. And these are all separate fronts, but actually, all of them support a single, important goal: securing an equitable and sustainable future for all of our countries.

Finally, we also discussed a broad array of challenges, global challenges – from Daesh or ISIL, from the turmoil of the Middle East, from Ebola, to climate change, to the threat of terrorism in many different places. We all understand that Ebola is a global threat requiring global action, and I particularly want to thank Japan for providing an additional $100 million for treatment, prevention, and broader efforts that will promote stability in the hardest-hit countries. Over the last weeks under President Obama’s leadership, many countries have been coming together in an effort to try to create a greater response on Ebola. Many countries have responded remarkably and they’re contributing healthcare workers, they’re contributing construction materials, medical supplies, doctors, nurses, experts, technicians, laboratories, beds, hospital equipment. Every country has an ability to do something, and we are grateful for those that are, but we need more countries to still do more.

And I want to emphasize, across the board, as a planet, all of us on this globe are not yet doing enough to be able to curb and eradicate the threat of Ebola. There are hundreds of new cases each week, and the UN has identified $1 billion in urgent needs. In my meetings over the past two days, I urged all of our APEC partners to help to meet that need with specific efforts along the lines that I just described. So we hope the response will grow, and obviously, out of that can come an enormous example of the ability of countries to come together. What we do against Ebola can actually be a model for what we can do against any other future challenge of similar kind. So this is not a one-time lost moment; this is something that can serve all of us to build a long-term infrastructure to deal with the potential of any communicable disease that can move across boundaries and borders at any time.

With that, I would be happy to answer a few questions.

MS. HARF: Our first question is from Carol Morello of The Washington Post, and there is a microphone for you too, if you’ll just hold on one second.

QUESTION: Could you provide some more details on your discussions this morning with Mr. Lavrov, specifically about Ukraine and Iran? Did he provide any assurances that Russia is committed to upholding the Minsk agreement, particularly when it comes to sending troops and tanks into Luhansk? And if there is credible evidence to the contrary, how would the U.S. respond? New sanctions or something else?

On Iran, did he assess what he considers the prospects for a November 24th agreement? And what is your sense, given the correspondence between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei, that Iran is prepared to make a deal given they – the fact they still refuse to be transparent regarding current and past use of nuclear materials?

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, the meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov was a very in-depth meeting in which we discussed a number of different crises in the following context: Obviously, the United States and Russia have some clear differences and some clear disagreements about certain policies at this point in time. And we discussed, obviously, those disagreements. But we also know that we need to find the places where we can agree and cooperate because it is important for the world to do so.

With respect to Iran, Russia has been a constructive, engaged, serious partner in the effort to try to find a solution to a problem that is not – that shouldn’t lend itself to other disagreements, but which has enormous impact for everybody and which is strategically important not just to the United States or the P5+1, but to all countries, and which can have a profound impact on nonproliferation for the long term. So Russia has been working as a constructive participant in the P5+1 process. They have made various suggestions that have helped to move the process along. And we are hopeful that over the course of the next weeks, it will be possible to close real gaps that still exist in order to be able to reach an agreement, but I’m not going to stand here and predict at this point in time what the odds of that are.

I also want to make this very, very clear: No one, to my knowledge, has confirmed or denied whether or not there is a letter or was a letter, and I’m not going to comment on what the President of the United States and a leader of another country may or may not communicate – may or may not communicate privately. I will tell you this, though: No conversation, no agreement, no exchange, nothing has created any kind of a deal or agreement with respect to any of the events that are at stake in the Middle East. There is no linkage whatsoever of the nuclear discussions with any other issue, and I want to make that absolutely clear. The nuclear negotiations are on their own, they are standing separate from anything else, and no discussion has ever taken place about linking one thing to another, one involvement with another, that I am aware of. And I’m confident I am aware of what the President has been doing and saying with respect to this issue.

The issue of Ukraine we discussed, obviously, at length, but we also discussed Syria, we discussed the Middle East peace process, we discussed other issues of concern. Suffice it to say that we do have some disagreements about some of the facts on the ground with respect to Ukraine. We have agreed to exchange some information between us regarding that. And we have also agreed that this is a dialogue that will continue. But the issue of sanctions or other issues obviously have been made clear, are that the choices Russia makes will decide what happens with respect to sanctions in the long run here.

And our hope is still that the process of the Minsk agreements can go forward, that they will be implemented, and that it will be possible over time, with their implementation, to see the border sealed, to see the troops withdrawn, and to see stability restored in a way that allows everybody to move down a path of de-escalation. But it really is up to the events over the course of the next weeks to determine whether or not that happens.

MS. HARF: Great. Our final question is from Hu Ling of Phoenix TV. The mike is coming.

QUESTION: Thank you, Secretary. I come from Hong Kong, Phoenix TV. My question --

SECRETARY KERRY: Okay, go ahead.

QUESTION: Yeah, sorry. My question concern about the China and Japan relationship. You have also mentioned about a little bit in your final (inaudible) speech, and I wonder how you – what’s your comment on the agreement reached by China and Japan, and that they finally made the top leader meeting during the APEC time? And also, do you think it’s come to a release – relief for U.S. and also other Asia country? Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: What was the last part of the question? I’m sorry.

QUESTION: Sorry, I do wonder, the meeting – the top leader meeting welcomes to relief for U.S. and also other neighboring country in Asia? Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: The top leader meeting in – between --

QUESTION: Yeah, between China and Japan.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, I discussed this new agreement with both Foreign Minister Wang Yi and also with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan. And both of them explained to me what they believe they have achieved in the four points with respect to the agreement between them. I want to be clear that the United States welcomes this initiative. We think that any steps that the two countries can take to improve the relationship and reduce the tensions is helpful not just to those two countries, but it’s helpful to the region.

And I think it’s entirely appropriate that that particular discussion took place here at APEC, which frankly is becoming not just a place to discuss economic ideas, but also to reflect on the fact that today, the ability of economics to work requires stability and a peaceful process in place. So I think that security issues are also automatically on the table. So to have this emerge from this meeting, I think, is important.

Now this agreement is a beginning; it’s not an end. It’s the outline of steps that now need to be taken in order to really define how certain tensions are going to really be resolved. So it will be over time that this will be given a little more meat on the bones. But we absolutely appreciate the initial effort, we think it’s very constructive, and we have hopes that it can lead to a greater definition and to a reduction further of any conflict or tension in the region.

MS. HARF: Great. Thank you all very much.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you all very much. Thank you.

NASA RELEASES IMAGE OF TYPHOON PHANFONE

FROM:  NASA 

NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of Typhoon Phanfone and its large eye in the western Pacific Ocean on Friday, Oct. 3 at 1:55 UTC.  Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite flew over Typhoon Phanfone on Oct. 2, 2014 at 0939 UTC (5:39 a.m. EDT). The rainfall pattern observed using TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data showed that Phanfone was much better organized than a day earlier. This precipitation analysis revealed that intensifying typhoon Phanfone had formed a large eye. The heaviest rainfall was shown falling at a rate of over 50 mm (almost 2 inches) per hour in the northern side of the typhoon's eye wall.

On Oct. 3 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT), Typhoon Phanfone's maximum sustained winds were near 110 knots (126.6 mph/203.7 kph). It was centered near 23.6 north longitude and 134.4 east latitude, about 374 nautical miles west-southwest of the island of Iwo To. Phanfone has tracked northwestward at 12 knots (13.8 mph/22.2 kph).

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) predicts intensifying Phanfone's wind speeds will peak at 125 knots (144 mph) on October 3, 2014. The typhoon is then predicted to gradually weaken and it's track to re-curve toward the northeast and pass to the southeast of Tokyo, Japan on October 5-6, 2014.  Hal Pierce and Rob Gutro.  NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

A NEW VOLCANIC ISLAND

Credit:  Photograph Landsat 8 - OLI.

FROM:  NASA 

Still Huffing and Puffing

Nine months after a new island broke through the surface of the western Pacific Ocean, the volcanic eruption at Nishino-shima continues. The tiny new volcanic island (“Niijima” in Japanese) merged into Nishino-shima last winter and continued to grow. Steady flows of lava are enlarging the merged island, which is now 1.39 square kilometers (0.54 square miles).  Part of the Ogasawara chain, the island lies about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) south of Tokyo at 27°14’ North, 140°52’ East.

According to observers, lava is still flowing on the east side of the island at a rate of 200,000 cubic meters per day and could eventually lead to some instability. “If lava continues to mount on the eastern area, it will be deposited on steep slopes,” wrote University of Tokyo scientist Fukashi Maeno in an email to Earth Observatory. “This could cause instability on the slope, so a partial collapse of the island may occur. We need to carefully observe the growth process.”
After flights on August 26 (photo below), Japan Coast Guard officials told local media that there is also a mound of congealed lava inside a volcanic vent on the north side of the island. The officials suggested such a mound could “seal off passages of magma and raise interior pressure if it continues to grow, resulting in a large-scale explosion.” Though no such eruption is imminent, the Coast Guard warned mariners to keep their distance from the island.

RETIRED NAVY OFFICIAL PLEADS GUILTY IN BRIBERY SCANDAL

FROM:   U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Former U.S. Navy Officer Pleads Guilty in International Bribery Scandal

Defendant Admits Overcharging Navy by up to $2.5 Million for Port Services in Japan

A retired Navy official who started a second career working for defense contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he and others overcharged the Navy by up to $2.5 million for port services to American ships and then used some of the proceeds to treat Navy officials to lavish dinners, cocktails and entertainment.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy for the Southern District of California, Director Andrew L. Traver of Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Acting Deputy Inspector General of Investigations James R. Ives of the Department of Defense (DCIS) made the announcement.

“There is an old Navy saying: ‘Not self, but country.’  Edmond Aruffo instead put self before country when he stole from the U.S. Navy as part of a massive fraud and bribery scheme that cost the U.S. Navy more than $20 million ,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.

“This corruption scandal continues to lead us in new directions, and we continue to marvel at the extent of it,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “If there are others who, like Edmond Aruffo, have traded integrity and honesty for greed and profit, we will find them and prosecute them.”

“Retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Edmond A. Aruffo, who previously held a position of trust and responsibility conferred on him by the Navy, betrayed his former service for personal gain by rigging invoices and deserves to be held accountable for his criminal actions,” said Director Traver.   “NCIS will continue to work with DCIS and the Department of Justice in vigorously investigating and prosecuting these crimes of corruption and fraud.”

“The guilty plea of Edward Aruffo is part of an ongoing effort by the DCIS and its law enforcement partners to bring to justice individuals who seek to illegally enrich themselves at the expense of U.S. taxpayers,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General Ives.   “While the vast majority of DOD contractors engage in lawful business practices, a few are driven by greed to break the law.   Those who do will be caught and punished.   American taxpayers will accept nothing less.”

Edmond A. Aruffo, who retired in 2007 at the rank of lieutenant commander after a military career spanning more than 20 years, is the seventh defendant charged – and the fourth to plead guilty – in the expanding corruption scandal involving GDMA’s illicit relationships with Navy officials.  GDMA is a Singapore-based contractor that has serviced Navy ships and submarines in the Pacific for decades.

Aruffo, who became manager of GDMA’s Japan operations in 2009, entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen S. Crawford of the Southern District of California to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.  Aruffo’s bond was set at $40,000; however, he indicated to the court he not post bond and immediate self-surrender.  A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Oct. 3, 2014, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino of the Southern District of California.

According to court documents, GDMA owner and CEO Leonard Francis enlisted the clandestine assistance of Navy personnel – including Commander Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez, NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau and Petty Officer First Class Daniel Layug – to provide classified ship schedules and other sensitive information about an ongoing criminal investigation of GDMA.   Court documents also allege that Francis and his cousin, GDMA executive Alex Wisidagama, conspired to defraud the United States through a number of overbilling schemes.  In total, GDMA allegedly overcharged the Navy under its contracts and submitted bogus invoices for more than $20 million.  Wisidagama, Beliveau and Layug have pleaded guilty while the others are awaiting trial.

According to Aruffo’s plea agreement, Aruffo was hired by GDMA’s Francis, who is accused of bribing Navy personnel with cash, luxury travel, expensive meals, consumer electronics and prostitutes in exchange for classified and proprietary information to win contracts and favorable treatment for his company.

According to the plea agreement, Aruffo was serving as the operations officer of the USS Blue Ridge when he met Francis.  GDMA was providing “husbanding” services, such as tug boats, harbor pilots, trash removal, line handlers and transportation to that ship and numerous others.

In the plea agreement, Aruffo admitted that he and others defrauded the U.S. Navy in connection with charges for port services provided to nearly every Navy ship that came to port in Japan from July 2009 to September 2010.

As part of its contract with the Navy, GDMA was required to coordinate various vendors to provide port services for the Navy ships.  Those vendors were to submit invoices directly to the Navy, rather than through GDMA.

The plea agreement said that Aruffo and others obtained letterhead from the Japanese vendors and used it to prepare bogus invoices which inflated the cost for services by tens of thousands of dollars.  Aruffo admitted he arranged kickbacks to GDMA from the vendors, once they were paid by the Navy.

For example, according to the plea agreement, in February of 2010 the USS Lake Erie visited the port of Sukomo, Japan.  Aruffo arranged for a Japanese vendor to provide a variety of husbanding services.  The vendor invoiced the Navy $145,229.77 – an amount inflated by about $50,000, which the vendor ultimately gave to GDMA as a kickback.

A few days later, Aruffo arranged for another Japanese vendor to provide such services to the USS Blue Ridge at the port of Otaru, Japan, the plea agreement said.  The vendor billed the Navy in the amount of $432,476.14 and then kicked back $204,961.20 to GDMA.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by NCIS, DCIS and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.   The case is being prosecuted by Director of Procurement Fraud Catherine Votaw and Trial Attorneys Brian Young and Wade Weems of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Pletcher and Robert Huie of the Southern District of California.

U.S. NAVY GETS READY FOR SUPER TYPHOON NEOGURI

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Sailors in Okinawa Brace for Super Typhoon

By Navy Chief Petty Officer Kimberley Martinez

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1

OKINAWA, Japan, July 7, 2014 – Sailors from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 are bracing and preparing for the impact of Super Typhoon Neoguri, forecasted to arrive here as a Category 5 strength storm tomorrow.
NMCB 1 sailors spent July 6 and 7 storing items, sandbagging ground-level entrances subject to flooding and staging tactical vehicles, water dispensers and packaged meals throughout Camp Shields.

“Right now, we’re finishing up securing the camp, tying up and putting away anything that is not immobile so that nothing will become a projectile hazard throughout Camp Shields,” said Navy Command Master Chief Petty Officer Dean Fischer, the battalion’s command master chief.

Although Super Typhoon Neoguri has wind gusts at more than 150 mph according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the Seabees are adept in natural disaster preparation and the relief efforts, which may be needed in the storm’s aftermath, Fischer said.

“Typhoon season pretty much aligns with hurricane season back home in Mississippi, so Gulfport Seabees have a very long history of dealing with TCCOR [tropical storm condition of readiness] conditions,” the command master chief said. “All of the engineering assets on Okinawa will be in contact before, during and after the storm coordinating anything they would need. For us, the primary mission would be to support the Navy bases, the Marine Corps and the Air Force bases.”

Typhoon season officially runs from June through November. According to AccuWeather.com meteorologists, Neoguri will still be a super typhoon when it crosses the gap between the Ryukyu Islands of Miyako Jima and Okinawa.
NMCB 1 sailors are making the best of a stormy outlook, preparing to hunker down in their barracks until they receive an all-clear notice from their chain of command.

“I will take accountability of all of the personnel in my building continue to maintain their safety throughout the storm and make sure they have food and water,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Johnny Turner, a yeoman. “Our mustering point will be in our lounge area, where we will meet and get accountability to the command mustering point of contact, and while we ride out the storm, it will be an opportunity for us to bond [and] relax after working hard to secure the base.”
Master Chief Petty Officer Benno Lederer, Camp Shields officer in charge, said that because of NMCB 1’s diligent efforts in preparing for the typhoon, Camp Shields is braced for the storm well ahead of schedule.

“All NMCB 1 and 30th Naval Construction Regiment typhoon preparations are done, and we are prepared for the storm,” he said. The sailors will begin lockdown for Tropical Cyclone Conditions of Readiness 1 late today or early tomorrow and are expected to be in that state until July 9 or 10, he added.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 1 is deployed to Okinawa as part of its 2014 deployment.

PRESIDENT OBAMA MARKES REMARKS TO MIRAIKAN SCIENCE AND YOUTH EXPO IN TOKYO, JAPAN

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT 

Remarks by President Obama to Miraikan Science and Youth Expo

Miraikan Museum

Tokyo, Japan

3:27 P.M. JST

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Konnichiwa.  Please sit down.  Thank you so much.  Well, I want to thank Dr. Mohri and everyone at The Miraikan for welcoming me here today.  And it is wonderful to see all of these outstanding students.  Dr. Mohri is a veteran of two space shuttle missions, embodies the spirit that brings us here together —- the incredible cooperation in science and technology between Japan and the United States.

I want to thank all the students that I had a chance to meet with as we went around the various exhibits.  We heard a message from the international space station.  We saw some truly amazing robots -- although I have to say the robots were a little scary. They were too lifelike.  They were amazing.  And these students showed me some of their experiments, including some soccer-playing robots that we just saw.  And all of the exhibits I think showed the incredible breakthroughs in technology and science that are happening every single day.

And historically, Japan and the United States have been at the cutting-edge of innovation.  From some of the first modern calculators decades ago to the devices that we hold in our hands today -- the smartphones that I’m sure every young person here uses -- Japan and the United States have often led the way in the innovations that change our lives and improve our lives.

And that’s why I’m so pleased that the United States and Japan are renewing the 10-year agreement that makes so much of our science and technology cooperation possible.  Both of our societies celebrate innovation, celebrate science, celebrate technology.  We’re close partners in the industries of tomorrow. And it reminds us why it’s so important for us to continue to invest in science, technology, math, engineering.  These are the schools -- these are the skills that students like all of you are going to need for the global economy, and that includes our talented young women.

Historically, sometimes young women have been less represented in the sciences, and one of the things that I’ve really been pushing for is to make sure that young women, just like young men, are getting trained in these fields, because we need all the talent and brainpower to solve some of the challenges that we’re going to face in the future.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Abe and I announced a new initiative to increase student exchanges, including bringing more Japanese students to the United States.  So I hope you’ll come.  Welcome.  And it’s part of our effort to double students exchanges in the coming years.  As we saw today, young people like you have at your fingertips more technology and more power than even the greatest innovators in previous generations. So there’s no limit to what you can achieve, and the United States of America wants to be your partner.

So I’m very proud to have been here today.  I was so excited by what I saw.  The young people here were incredibly impressive.  And as one of our outstanding astronauts described, as we just are a few days after Earth Day, it’s important when we look at this globe and we think about how technology has allowed us to understand the planet that we share, and to understand not only the great possibilities but also the challenges and dangers from things like climate change -- that your generation is going to help us to find answers to some of the questions that we have to answer.  Whether it’s:  How do we feed more people in an environment in which it’s getting warmer? How do we make sure that we’re coming up with new energy sources that are less polluting and can save our environment?  How do we find new medicines that can cure diseases that take so many lives around the globe?  To the robots that we saw that can save people’s lives after a disaster because they can go into places like Fukushima that it may be very dangerous for live human beings to enter into.  These are all applications, but it starts with the imaginations and the vision of young people like you.

So I’m very proud of all of you and glad to see that you’re doing such great work.  You have counterparts in the United States who share your excitement about technology and science.  I hope you get a chance to meet them.  I hope you get a chance to visit the United States.  As far as I know, we don’t have one of those cool globes, but we have some other pretty neat things in the United States as well.  And I hope we can share those with you if and when you come.

Thank you very much.  And I just want you to know in closing that I really believe that each of you can make a difference.  Gambatte kudasai.  You can do this thing if you apply yourselves.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

END

DEFENSE COOPERATION DISCUSSED AT PENTAGON BY U.S., SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S., Japan, South Korea Meet on Defense Cooperation

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 – The United States, Japan and the South Korea held what officials called “a productive, substantial meeting” at the Pentagon to promote trilateral defense cooperation.

The two days of meetings, which wrapped up today, grew out of the trilateral summit hosted by President Barack Obama in The Hague on March 25.
In a joint statement summarizing the meeting, officials said the three nations reaffirmed that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and that they agreed to coordinate closely to deter North Korean provocations.
The three countries also reaffirmed the necessity for a coordinated response and close cooperation with the international community with respect to the threat to international security posed by the North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs, the statement said.

In addition, the three countries shared the understanding of the importance of cooperating on nontraditional security issues such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counterpiracy, and discussed additional ways to cooperate in these areas.

Mark Lippert, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s chief of staff; Yoo Jeh-seung, deputy minister for policy in South Korea’s Defense Ministry; and Hideshi Tokuchi, director-general of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Defense Policy Bureau, headed the delegations for the meetings.

USS BONHOMME RICHARD RESPONDS TO KOREAN PASSENGER SHP SINKING

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 stand ready on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, April 16, 2014. Sailors and Marines aboard Bonhomme Richard stand ready to render aid at the scene of a sinking ferry near the island of Jindo off South Korea’s southwestern coast. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam D. Wainwright.  

U.S. Ship Responds to Scene of Korean Ship Sinking
Navy News Service

SEOUL, South Korea, April 16, 2014 – The U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard is responding to the scene after the passenger ship Sewol sank near the island of Jindo off South Korea’s southwestern coast.

The ship had more than 450 people aboard and was traveling from Incheon, South Korea, to Jeju island at the time of the incident.

Bonhomme Richard has established communications with the South Korean on-scene commander and is standing by to assist as required. The ship was on a routine patrol in waters west of the Korean Peninsula.

"When we were alerted to the accident, we immediately diverted to the scene to render assistance," said Navy Capt. Heidi C. Agle, commodore of U.S. Amphibious Squadron 11. "However, the efficiency of the Korean response eclipsed the immediate need for our assets. We are standing by to provide support as requested by the on-scene commander."

Bonhomme Richard is forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet. With its embarked Marine expeditionary unit, the ship is capable of both combat and humanitarian operations.

TWO MORE AEGIS SHIPS SENT TO JAPAN; REASONS INCLUDE NORTH KOREAN PROVOCATIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel: U.S. to Send 2 More Aegis Ships to Japan
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

TOKYO, April 6, 2014 – For reasons a senior defense official said included North Korean provocations, treaty commitments to Japan and U.S. national security interests, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today that the United States will send Japan two more Aegis-equipped ballistic-missile defense ships by 2017
The ships are designed to intercept ballistic missiles post-boost phase and before reentry. When delivered, Japan will have a total of seven such ships.

Hagel made the announcement this morning during a joint press conference with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera after the two leaders met earlier to discuss a range of alliance issues, including the threat posed by North Korea.
“In response to Pyongyang¹s pattern of provocative and destabilizing actions, including recent missile launches in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, I can announce today that the United States is planning to forward-deploy two additional Aegis ballistic missile defense ships to Japan by 2017,” Hagel said.

The secretary said he visited one of the U.S. ballistic missile defense ships when he was in Japan on October 3, 2013, for the “2 plus 2” meeting of U.S. and Japanese secretaries of state and defense.

“This deployment follows our October announcement to establish a second missile-defense radar site in Kyoto Prefecture and my decision last year to increase ground-based interceptors in Alaska,” Hagel said, adding that these steps will enhance the United States’ ability to defend Japan and its own homeland from North Korea’s ballistic missile threat.

Significantly bolstering the U.S. naval presence also strengthens the U.S.-Japan alliance and increases deterrence against North Korean aggression, the secretary said.

In late March, on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye sat down for the first time to discuss the shared threat they face from North Korea. They agreed that they would consider specific steps they could take to deepen diplomatic and military coordination to deter the threat, including joint exercises and on missile defense.

Building off that meeting, Hagel said today that he and Onodera had “discussed ways to help deepen trilateral defense cooperation,” including through the upcoming Defense Trilateral Talks to be held in Washington this month.
Hagel and Onodera also discussed plans for consolidation on Okinawa, and the secretary thanked the minister for Japan’s efforts in securing approval in December for the Futenma replacement facility¹s landfill permit.

“We look forward to the facility¹s construction beginning soon,” Hagel said. “I reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to continue exploring ways to reduce the economic impact of our facilities on Okinawa and our desire to be a good neighbor.”

The secretary said these issues will be part of revising the guidelines for U.S.-Japan defense cooperation as the United States adjusts its posture in the Asia-Pacific region and Japan expands its roles and relationships around the world.
“The United States welcomes Japan’s efforts to play a more proactive role in contributing to global and regional peace and stability,” Hagel said, “including reexamining the interpretation of its Constitution relating to the rights of collective self-defense.”

It is Japan’s responsibility and sovereign right to review its self-defense guidelines in the interests of what is best for the Japanese people, the secretary added.

“We encourage and support that effort and believe the decisions made by the Japanese government on behalf of the Japanese people will continue to enhance and strengthen this important alliance between our two countries,” he said.
During their meeting, Hagel and Onodera also discussed key challenges in the East China Sea.

“I restated the principles that govern longstanding U.S. policy on the Senkaku Islands and other islands,” the secretary said, “and we affirmed that since [the Senkaku Islands] are under Japan’s administrative control, they fall under Article 5 of our Mutual Security Treaty.”

According to Article 5, “each party recognizes that an armed attack against either party in the territories under the administration of Japan would be dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional provisions and processes.”

It continues, “Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall be immediately reported to the Security Council of the United Nations in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Charter. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.”

“We take seriously America's treaty commitments and we strongly oppose any unilateral coercive action that seeks to undermine Japan¹s administrative control,” Hagel said. “A peaceful resolution of territorial disputes is in the interest of all nations of the region.”

America has no stronger ally or better friend in this region than Japan, he added.
Going forward, the secretary said, there’s “no doubt that, as the United States continues to rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific, the enduring friendship and alliance between our two nations will only grow stronger.”

Tomorrow, Hagel said, he continues his Asia-Pacific trip with a stop in China at the invitation of Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan.

“I look forward to spending time in China and having direct conversations with the leaders in China about many issues,” the secretary added. “Certainly many … of those issues will revolve around the Asia-Pacific issues, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, [China’s] neighbors [and] the continued dangerous and provocative actions of the North Koreans.”

Great powers have great responsibilities and China is a great power, Hagel said.
“With this power comes new and wider responsibilities as to how you use that power, how you employ that military power,” he added. “And I want to talk with the Chinese about all of that, particularly transparency -- a key dimension of relationships. Transparency, intentions, what governments are doing, why. The more transparent and open governments can be with each other, the better for everyone. That avoids miscalculation, misinterpretation, misunderstanding, and hopefully that lowers the risk of conflict.”

Hagel said he’d also like to speak with the Chinese about respect for one’s neighbors. Coercion and intimidation are deadly and lead only to conflict, he added.

“All nations, all people, deserve respect no matter how large or how small. I think we're seeing clear evidence of a lack of respect, along with intimidation and coercion in Europe today in what the Russians have done in Ukraine,” the secretary said.

“We must be very careful and … very clear, [to] all nations of the world, that in the 21st century this will not stand,” he added. “You cannot go around the world and redefine boundaries and violate territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations by force, coercion and intimidation, whether it's in small islands in the Pacific or large nations in Europe. Nations must be clear on this and speak plainly. It takes courage from leaders.”

Hagel said he’d like to speak with the Chinese about common interests and building relationships, especially military-to-military relationships, and opportunities for engagement with neighbors like Japan and South Korea.
“I look forward to an honest dialogue,” he added. “I look forward to listening carefully to the Chinese, and only then do we help move forward, not just with opportunities but with possibilities and the processes to fulfill those prospects.”

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS AT CLOSING OF NUCLEAR SECURITY SUMMIT

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Remarks by President Obama at Closing Session of the Nuclear Security Summit

The World Forum
The Hague, The Netherlands

3:15 P.M. CET

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, thank you very much, Mark.  Let me begin just by saying that -- to Prime Minister Rutte and all the people here in the Netherlands who were involved in organizing this summit, you did an extraordinary job.  And I think we would all agree that this was as well-designed and well-executed as any international summit that we’ve attended.  And so we’re very grateful, and you’ve set a high bar for the work that needs to be done in Chicago.

Two things I want to do is, number one, just remind everybody what has been accomplished.  In previous summits, as a consequence to the work that’s been done collectively, 12 countries and two dozen nuclear facilities around the world have rid themselves entirely of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium.  Dozens of nations have boosted security at their nuclear storage sites; built their own counter-smuggling teams; or created new centers to improve nuclear security and training.  The IAEA is stronger.  More countries have ratified the treaties and international partnerships at the heart of our efforts.

And at this particular summit, we’ve seen such steps as Belgium and Italy completing the removal of their excess supplies of highly-enriched uranium and plutonium so that those supplied s can be eliminated.  In a major commitment, Japan announced that it will work with the United States to eliminate hundreds of kilograms of weapons-usable nuclear material from one of their experimental reactors, which would be enough for a dozen nuclear weapons.  Dozens of other nations have agreed to take specific steps towards improving nuclear security in their own countries and to support global efforts.

So what’s been valuable about this summit is that it has not just been talk, it’s been action.  And that is because of the leadership that has been shown by heads of state and government -- and heads of government that have participated in this effort, as well as the extraordinary work of foreign ministers and sherpas and others who have helped to move this process forward.

I’m looking forward to hosting all of you in the United States, in 2016.  We had a good discussion this afternoon about how we should conceive of this summit two years from now.  The consensus, based on what I heard, was that we should recognize this next summit will be a transition summit in which heads of state and government are still participating, but that we are shifting towards a more sustainable model that utilizes our ministers, our technical people, and we are building some sort of architecture that can effectively focus and implement on these issues and supplement the good work that is being done by the IAEA and others.

So I see two tasks before us over the next two years.  Number one is we have to set very clearly what are the actionable items that we’ve already identified that we know can get done if we have the political will to do them, and let’s go ahead and get them done so that in 2016 we can report out that we have made extraordinary progress and achieved many of the benchmarks and targets that we had set at the very first Nuclear Security Summit.  In other words, I think it is important for us not to relax, but rather accelerate our efforts over the next two years, sustain momentum so that we finish strong in 2016.  And my team will be contacting all of you to find out specific ways in which you think we can move the ball forward over the next two years.

The second thing we’ll be doing is soliciting ideas from each of you about the ultimate architecture that should be constructed to ensure that beyond 2016 we are able to keep this process alive and effective, and that we are able to sync up the efforts of the Nuclear Security Summit with existing institutions like the IAEA, Interpol, the United Nations, some of the treaties that are already in force.

All of you have important views on that, and we’re going to want to make sure that you provide them so that by the time we get to 2016 we have a well thought-out process that can be ratified at that meeting.

So I cannot thank you enough for the extraordinary efforts that all of you have already made.  I cannot guarantee that the videos will be as good at the Washington conference as they’ve been here.  We may not be as creative and imaginative as Mark and his team have been.  But I promise you that we will continue to stay focused on this very important issue, and we look forward to your contributions in 2016 in the United States.

Thank you very much, Mark.  (Applause.)

U.S. & ALLIES WILL NOT ATTEND G-8 SUMMIT IN SOCHI, RUSSIA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

The Hague Declaration

1. We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission met in The Hague to reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

2. International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force.  To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built.  We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution.  We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations.  We do not recognize either. 

3. Today, we reaffirm that Russia’s actions will have significant consequences.  This clear violation of international law is a serious challenge to the rule of law around the world and should be a concern for all nations.  In response to Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to demonstrate our determination to respond to these illegal actions, individually and collectively we have imposed a variety of sanctions against Russia and those individuals and entities responsible.  We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation. 

4. We remind Russia of its international obligations, and its responsibilities including those for the world economy.  Russia has a clear choice to make.  Diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation remain open, and we encourage the Russian Government to take them.  Russia must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, begin discussions with the Government of Ukraine, and avail itself of offers of international mediation and monitoring to address any legitimate concerns.

5.  The Russian Federation’s support for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine is a step in the right direction.  We look forward to the mission’s early deployment, in order to facilitate the dialogue on the ground, reduce tensions and promote normalization of the situation, and we call on all parties to ensure that Special Monitoring Mission members have safe and secure access throughout Ukraine to fulfill their mandate.

6.  This Group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities.  Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them.  Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit.  We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course and the environment comes back to where the G-8 is able to have a meaningful discussion and will meet again in G-7 format at the same time as planned, in June 2014, in Brussels, to discuss the broad agenda we have together.  We have also advised our Foreign Ministers not to attend the April meeting in Moscow.  In addition, we have decided that G-7 Energy Ministers will meet to discuss ways to strengthen our collective energy security.

7.  At the same time, we stand firm in our support for the people of Ukraine who seek to restore unity, democracy, political stability, and economic prosperity to their country.   We commend the Ukrainian government’s ambitious reform agenda and will support its implementation as Ukraine seeks to start a new chapter in its history, grounded on a broad-based constitutional reform, free and fair presidential elections in May, promotion of human rights and respect of national minorities.

8. The International Monetary Fund has a central role leading the international effort to support Ukrainian reform, lessening Ukraine's economic vulnerabilities, and better integrating the country as a market economy in the multilateral system.  We strongly support the IMF's work with the Ukrainian authorities and urge them to reach a rapid conclusion.  IMF support will be critical in unlocking additional assistance from the World Bank, other international financial institutions, the EU, and bilateral sources.  We remain united in our commitment to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine, to co-ordinate our technical assistance, and to provide assistance in other areas, including measures to enhance trade and strengthen energy security.