ティラーソン長官は18日(現地時間)、歴訪に同行した米国保守オンラインメディアの<インディペンデント ジャーナル レビュー>とのインタビューで「日本はこの地域で米国の最も重要な同盟国(our most important ally)」と言い、韓国については「東北アジアの安定と関連して重要なパートナー(important partner)」と各々言及した。
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http://ijr.com/2017/03/827413-transcript-independent-journal-reviews-sit-interview-secretary-state-rex-tillerson/
RT: Well, Japan is — because of the size of their economy — they are our most important ally in the region, because of the standpoint of both security issues, economic issues, stability issues. So that’s not anything new. That’s been the situation now, for decades. South Korea, similarly, is an important partner relative to stability of northeast Asia.
The attention on South Korea early in this administration has been dominated by the actions of North Korea, and that’s taken a lot of careful time and attention. Japan, also, is obviously an important element of that trilateral relationship.