00:00Yes. All right, I'm going to go to the next row, that gentleman right there with the glasses.
00:05Well, right behind you, because you're not the next row. That's the next row. Right there. Yes.
00:08Thank you. I'd like to ask how you view...
00:10Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't... Okay. Oh, go ahead. You can start. I hadn't seen you. I'd seen it.
00:14But you can go, because you're first on that row.
00:15Okay, great. Thank you so much.
00:16As a well-oiled machine, ladies and gentlemen. So go ahead. I'm sorry, man.
00:19Thanks. I'd like to ask how you view recent escalation of tensions between Japan and China.
00:25You've been known for your tough rhetoric towards China over the years.
00:28Do you condemn China's recent provocative actions against Japan?
00:33Yeah, no, I think I've been nice to China, you know, in terms of the work we have to do with them.
00:38And, I mean, I had another job. My job now is to...
00:41I represent the President of the United States and the United States in foreign diplomacy.
00:44And I think we've made good progress with the Chinese.
00:46The Japanese are a very close ally of the United States.
00:49I think these tensions are pre-existing.
00:52We understand that's one of the dynamics that has to be balanced in that region.
00:55And I believe that we feel very strongly that we can continue with our strong, firm partnership and alliance with Japan
01:01and do so in a way that continues to allow us to find productive ways to work together with the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government.
01:10Look, there'll be tensions. There's no doubt about it.
01:11I mean, at the end of the day, you know, China is going to be...
01:14It is, and it will continue to be a rich and powerful country and a factor in geopolitics.
01:18We have to have relations with them. We have to deal with them.
01:21We have to find the things we are able to work together on.
01:23And I think both sides are mature enough to recognize that there will be points of tension now and for the foreseeable future.
01:28Our job as part of responsible statecraft is to find opportunities to work together.
01:33Because I think if there's a global challenge that China and the U.S. can work together on, I mean, I think we can solve it.
01:39And there'll be points of tension.
01:40We will recognize that, and our job is to balance these two things.
01:43I think both sides understand that.
01:45And I think we can do that without imperiling or in any way undermining our very firm commitment to our partners in the Indo-Pacific.
01:52That includes not just Japan, but South Korea.
01:55And obviously, if you extend further out, you know, I don't want to leave anybody out, but India and Australia and New Zealand and all the other countries.
02:03And we also have growing and burgeoning relationships with countries like Vietnam and even Cambodia that we really haven't had, you know, very close contacts with historically.
02:11But we've talked to them a lot lately, obviously, through the context of the conflict going on with Thailand, but also to figure out opportunities to work together strategically.
02:21And I say Thailand, of course, we've had a very long and strong strategic alliance with them for many years.
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