Despite U.S. spending cuts and ongoing budget debates in Congress, the Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recently said DoD is using whatever flexibility it has in managing its budget to favor and protect the rebalance of forces in the Asia- Pacific region. "The rebalance will continue and in fact gain momentum for two reasons. First, U.S. interests here are enduring and so also will be its political and economic presence," Carter told an audience of nearly 1,500 defense, government and security officials from around the world.
"We will be able to leverage more capacity from our ground forces, including the Army, Marines and special operations forces, now that they are coming home to the Pacific from Iraq and Afghanistan," Carter said, adding, "Also we are modernizing and enhancing our forward presence across the region in cooperation with our allies and partners." Beginning with Northeast Asia, Carter said DoD is modernizing and updating alliances with Japan and South Korea.
