No Demand of Further Contribution

United States Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, used different words from what his President Donald Trump had been promising to the nation. In the meeting with Japanese Secretary of Defense, Tomomi Inada, Mattis did not demand further financial contribution to the cost of United States Force stationing Japan. Although Japanese governmental officials believe that both governments put a period on this issue, it is still possible for Trump to overturn what his Secretary has said.

In the campaign of Presidential election last year, Trump referred to a possibility of retreat of U.S. Force from Japan, if Japan would not pay for all the cost of stationing. While Mattis and Inada did not discuss the issue in the meeting at Ministry of Defense in Tokyo on Saturday, Mattis indicated no further burden of Japan in the press conference. “Japan has been a model of cost sharing, of burden sharing. We have constant dialogue about this. We’ve worked through the details, but we can point to our Japanese-American cost sharing approach as an example for other nations to follow,” said Mattis to a question of a Japanese journalist.

Mattis did not actually demand Japan further burden. But, does it guarantee no demand for further burden in the future? There is a broad frustration among U.S. public with the fact that American troops have been working for other nation’s security even risking their lives. Trump stimulated those sentiments to attract public attention. Japan has to take care of further pressure of cost sharing from U.S.

In terms of recognition of security situation in Northeast Asia, Mattis and Inada shared the common concern. “From the threat of missile provocations by North Korea to increasingly confrontational behavior by China in the East and South China Seas, we recognize the changing security situation,” told Mattis in the press conference. “China’s activities in the East and South China Seas are a security concern for the Asia-Pacific region. This concern has been shared between us,” told Inada.

But, Mattis stressed that military option could not be applied immediately. “We don’t settle them by taking military means and occupying land that is subject to question, -- so, what we have to do is exhaust all diplomatic efforts,” said Mattis. Chinese national Xinhua News Agency reported the words of Mattis about diplomacy-oriented idea of settling disputes in East and South China Seas, modeling Japan’s contribution to the const of U.S. Force stationing Japan or the obligation of U.S. to protect Japan under Article 5 of Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.