78-07-A3

- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1978

<< Previous Broadcast

Next Broadcast >>

Japan III

Transcript Renewing the acquaintance of Prime Minister Fukuda of Japan, former Prime Minister Kishi, leaders of the majority party, members of the cabinet and legislature and, of course, meeting some government officials for the first time was an enjoyable and rewarding experience for me. On one evening we had dinner with some half-a-hundred members of both houses of the Diet--the Japanese congress. It was a remarkable experience. We each had a microphone and headset for the lengthy question-and-answer session so there was instant two-way translation. For many it was unnecessary because they spoke our language. This was true of the other individual meetings also, though an interpreter was present for some. In my speaking engagements we simplified the process by providing Japanese language copies of my remarks to everyone present. I'll guarantee you I didn't do any ad-libbing on those occasions. But I couldn't help notice how many in the audience were obviously listening and understanding what I said without referring to the text. In all these meetings one topic was uppermost in the mind of each person I met. That is, is the United States withdrawing from the Western Pacific? They quoted statements by our leaders, which seemed to indicate such a withdrawal was possible. They brought up our troop withdrawal from South Korea, the talk o f normalizing relations with the mainland of China at the expense of Taiwan, and the growing strength of the Soviet navy in the Northwest Pacific. These were not uninformed citizens worrying about things they had read in the paper. These were leaders of a nation of 115 million people. And since World War II have depended on the United States for its national security. This was a responsibility we assumed in return for Japan's disarming and disavowing militarism. I was to meet this same question in other countries friendly to us, but deeply concerned about a U.S. foreign policy that seems unrealistic and incomprehensible to them. I tried to tell them of polls showing that Americans want an improvement in our military capability, that the American people do not support a policy that would abrogate our treaty with the Republic of China on Taiwan and that our people want us to maintain a presence in South Korea. On that last point I had my fingers crossed because frankly I wonder if our government does intend to maintain such a presence or, for that matter, pay attention to the expressed desire of the people. It was frustrating to hear national leaders friendly to the United States asking for some assurance that our country has the will to accept leadership of the free world. And they made it very plain there was no other nation with the strength to do so if we abdicated that responsibility. Our presence in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines is absolutely essential to the stability of the Western Pacific and, actually, to peace and freedom in the world. We must be prepared to maintain the Seventh fleet at a level of strength capable of keeping the sea level open in the northern Pacific and in the Indian Ocean. Do our own leaders understand that? This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 78-07-A3 Production Date 05/15/1978 Book/Page RihoH-114 Audio Youtube? No
		Added Notes