President Trump met with U. S. and Japanese troops and golfed with Japan’s prime minister on the first day of his five-country Asia tour.
President Trump kicked off his Asia tour Sunday with a warning that the U. S. will use its military might, if necessary, to fend off hostile threats.
“No one — no dictator, no regime and no nation — should underestimate, ever, American resolve,” Trump told U. S. and Japanese troops, assembled inside a flag-draped aircraft hangar at the Yokota Air Base in Tokyo. “We will never yield, never waver and never falter in defense of our people, our freedom and our great American flag.”
It was a message aimed, at least in part, at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whose aggressive nuclear and missile tests are expected to be a major focus of the president’s trip.
In South Korea, Trump will visit Camp Humphreys, a newly-expanded military base that will ultimately house many of the 28,500 U. S. troops on the peninsula. The $11 billion base was largely paid for by South Korea. The White House wants to showcase the garrison as a positive example of “burden sharing.”
“Free nations must be strong nations and we welcome it when our allies — from Europe to Asia — renew their commitment to peace through strength,” Trump told service members, after swapping his suit coat for a leather bomber jacket.
