US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the United States will not "abandon" relations with its two East Asian treaty allies, South Korea and Japan, as he addressed a question over America's defense commitment to Taiwan.
Rubio made the remarks in a Fox News interview, amid lingering concerns that under President Donald Trump's America First credo and his perceived transactional foreign policy approach, the US' security commitments to allies could weaken.
"We have to be present in the Indo-Pacific. They're trying to drive us out," he said, apparently referring to his view on China's intentions. "We are a Pacific nation ... So, we have relationships in the Pacific, and we're not going to abandon those -- Japan, South Korea."
The secretary also affirmed the US' "longstanding" position on Taiwan that America is "against any forced, compelled, coercive change in the status of Taiwan."
"That's been our position since the late 1970s, and that continues to be our position, and that's not going to change," he said.
On China, Rubio said that the US has to deal with the reality that China will be a "rich and powerful" country, but stressed that the US cannot allow for a world in which "China is so powerful that we (have to) depend on them."
"That's right now where we're headed, unfortunately. That's going to change under President Trump," the secretary said.
He underlined the need for the US to have its own domestic capabilities to ensure it does not have to rely on China.
"We've allowed way too many industries to fall into the hands of the Chinese, everything from rare earth minerals to pharmaceuticals," he said. "We have to have a domestic capacity, and it's one of the ideas behind the tariffs that the President is pursuing writ large."
He also pointed out that the US is lagging behind China's shipbuilding capacity, which he said amounts to a "very serious vulnerability."
"We have our aircraft manufacturing, our ship manufacturers. They are not keeping pace. China can build 10 ships before we can build one," he said. "That's a very serious vulnerability that cannot continue. And obviously, I know (Defense Secretary) Pete has a plan for that, and the President has a plan for that, and they're working on it."
Optimism for shipbuilding cooperation between South Korea and the US has risen as Trump mentioned his intent to work with Korea in the shipbuilding industry during a call with President Yoon Suk Yeol in November.
During a radio interview last month, Trump also said that the US may use allies in its efforts to build naval vessels. (Yonhap)
