Good afternoon!  I’m fired up to be here for Exercise KEEN SWORD.  General Yoshida, thank you for traveling here today—It’s great to see you again after spending some time together in Visakhapatnam for MALABAR two weeks ago.  Thank you to the media for covering this important event.
 
KEEN SWORD is a major biennial and bilateral joint exercise we have conducted with the Japan Self Defense Force since 1986.  It features realistic, relevant training that raises our combined ability to plan, communicate, and conduct complex multi-domain operations.  This year we are honored to have our friends from the Australian Defence Force and Canadian Armed Forces join us.  We welcome the opportunity to train with our Japanese, Australian, and Canadian allies and I look forward to an outstanding exercise.
 
The U.S.-Japan alliance is a cornerstone of regional peace and security.  The U.S. Pacific Fleet values the ironclad alliance with Japan and the Japan Self Defense Force’s key role in the Indo-Pacific.  The strength of our alliance is due in large part to the close, cooperative, and professional relationship we have forged in our frequent operations together.  We have continued to expand those operations in 2024. 
 
Together, we have enlarged our bilateral exercises -- such as KEEN SWORD -- to include like-minded allies and partners.  In February, Australia joined us for Exercise KEEN EDGE for the first time.  In June, Japan joined exercise VALIANT SHIELD, which became a multinational exercise for the first time this year, along with the Canadian and French Navies.  In July, the JSDF went to Hawaii for the full program of RIMPAC 2024 activities again playing a key role, this time as the CTF Vice Commander.
 

 
And earlier this month, as I alluded to before, Japan joined the U.S. and Australia in India for MALABAR, and additionally in the Philippines with many partners for SAMA SAMA, where we operated together in the South China Sea.  We have also continued our historic progress in Japan-ROK-US trilateral operations as we plan and execute increasingly advanced trilateral activities.  In June, we completed the first-ever Japan-ROK-U.S. exercise FREEDOM EDGE.
 
Our militaries continue to increase our coordination across all domains, from the seafloor to space. 
 
We also continue our critical planning for potential humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.  Along with our enlarged exercises and enhanced coordination, we stand together -- now more than ever -- to uphold international law.  The JMSDF joined several multilateral patrols in the Philippines EEZ this year in support of those goals.
 
Taken together, our combined forces in the Indo-Pacific promote free trade and shared prosperity, reinforced by the rules-based international order.  That order is based on values and ideals that have stabilized the world for generations.
 
It includes preventing the change of borders by force and maintaining freedom of the seas in support of international free trade.  It is a common cause our allies and partners rally around.  That common cause -- of global order based on values and ideals -- makes our alliances and partnerships unbreakable and together we advance a shared vision for an Indo-Pacific where all countries, regardless of size or strength, are secure in their sovereignty and free from coercion.
 
Our shared vision underpins our strong network of professional militaries throughout the Indo-Pacific.  It is upheld resolutely by the U.S. Pacific Fleet and our multinational partners.
 

 
In 2024, our shared vision is driving us to do more together than ever before.  Our achievements this year are historic and part of a new convergence in the Indo-Pacific, created by like-minded allies and partners operating together like never before.
 
Our combined capabilities and links with other nations dwarf those of any competitor.  This increasing convergence is at the heart of integrated deterrence, which is realized through the combination of all elements of national and international power.  We contribute militarily across the joint force and with our allies and partners to deter conflict and KEEN SWORD is a powerful example.
 
During KEEN SWORD, we will focus on sharpening joint integration and interoperability in order to build combat readiness.  We will exercise together at various locations across Japan and the Philippine Sea, under realistic conditions, with cutting-edge equipment and tactics.  We will conduct bilateral amphibious landings.  Our joint and combined force will conduct precise and overwhelming multi-domain, multi-axis operations that highlight the skill and agility of our professional militaries.
 
And we will demonstrate our ability to rapidly counter aggression against Japan and other regional allies and partners.  During KEEN SWORD, all will witness the strength of the ironclad US-Japan alliance and our obligation to defend Japan from any aggressor and KEEN SWORD will ensure we maintain our advantage over those who seek to undermine the rules-based order.
 
Even after KEEN SWORD, our critical bilateral operations will endure.  We will continue to stand united in defense of our shared values and common purpose.  And our tried-and-true alliance will continue to offer a future full of opportunities and endless possibilities.  As strong democracies dedicated to stability and prosperity, there are no limits to what we can do together to maintain the free and open Indo-Pacific.
 
I wish all KEEN SWORD participants a safe and productive exercise with shared growth and development; personally and professionally. 
 
I would trade places with any of you out there--flying, sailing, and operating together.  Thank you for being here and thank you to our outstanding JSDF and KEEN SWORD partners.