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| US SecNav (Wiki Info) Ray Mabus (Wiki Info) |
By Linny Folau
The United States Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said security and stability in the Pacific is important to the United States, reflected in an ongoing strong commitment that would see them put more emphasis and more of their assets into the region.
During a two-day visit to Tonga on May 9-10, Secretary Mabus meeting the press today at the Tonga Defence Headquarters, said the United States' commitment to the Pacific region is strong, enduring and will continue.
He said President Barack Obama had announced a little over a year ago their new defence strategy in which they are going to "rebalance" to the Pacific.
"For the navy that means by the end of this decade 60 percent of our fleet will be in the Pacific consisting of our newest and most capable ships. The U.S Marine have rotational presence in Australia and we are going to have both rotational and permanent residence of marines in Guam and Hawaii. We are a Pacific nation and this is where we see so much of our future economics, and the pathway that America will take involves its relationship with the Pacific," he said.
Read the full story at Matangi - Tonga Online