Biden: U.S. Presence Vital to Asian Stability, Prosperity

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2011 — The Unit­ed States has been a major force in pro­mot­ing sta­bil­i­ty in the Pacif­ic and remains com­mit­ted to its role as a Pacif­ic pow­er, Vice Pres­i­dent Joe Biden said yes­ter­day as he wrapped up his trip to the region.

“We are a res­i­dent Pacif­ic pow­er and we intend to stay that way. We are not going away,” Biden said he told lead­ers of Chi­na, Mon­go­lia and Japan dur­ing his vis­its there.

Speak­ing to mem­bers of the 3rd Marine Reg­i­ment at Marine Corps Base Hawaii dur­ing his return trip to Wash­ing­ton, Biden said their pres­ence in Hawaii plays a crit­i­cal role in the Unit­ed States’ approach to the Asia-Pacif­ic region.

Despite America’s roots as an Atlantic-focused nation, Biden said it has rec­og­nized for decades that it is a Pacif­ic nation as well.

“Asia and the Unit­ed States are not sep­a­rat­ed by a great ocean, we are bound­ed by it,” he said, quot­ing Pres­i­dent Barack Oba­ma dur­ing his first trip to the region as president.

“And you are the blood and sinew that binds us,” Biden told the Marines and sailors based at Kaneo­he Bay.

No coun­try has done more than the Unit­ed States dur­ing the last 60 years to pro­mote region­al sta­bil­i­ty and secu­ri­ty, he said.

“You embody that proud tra­di­tion and you enable that to con­tin­ue,” Biden told the ser­vice mem­bers. “All of you have pro­vid­ed the envi­ron­ment to allow sta­bil­i­ty and growth and has ben­e­fit­ed all of Asia.”

This sta­bil­i­ty has cre­at­ed the envi­ron­ment that has enabled Chi­na and much of the Pacif­ic Basin to grow and pros­per, the vice pres­i­dent said. 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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