From Christopher Lee, RealClearDefense: “U.S. President Donald Trump will be sending his Secretary of Defense, James “Mad Dog” Mattis to the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan to demonstrate his commitment to the region and perhaps to revive Mr. Obama’s failed pivot towards Asia. This is Secretary Mattis’ first trip abroad, and it is no surprise that the Trump Administration has chosen the Northeast Asia region. The trip is to further strengthen US-Japan partnership, underscore a robust US-ROK security relationship, and to keep Beijing and Pyongyang in check. Although the details of the proposed meeting have yet to be released, pundits suspect Mattis to bring up the deployment of U.S. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), nuclear brinksmanship of North Korea, and defense cost sharing issues when he meets his counterpart, ROK Defense Minister Han, Min-Koo.”
From Schuyler Moore, Strategy Bridge: “The U.S. and Russia have boundaries of military mobility and power projection in the Middle East shaped by decades of wars and alliances. However, the ongoing conflicts throughout the region have opened the door for players to rearrange the game board.”