East Asia and the Pacific
Today, as we look to the future of the Pacific, we recognize that whether peace survives in the last third of the century will depend more on what happens in the Pacific than in any other area of the world.
Remarks upon the arrival of
Prime Minister Sato of Japan,
November 19, 1969
The home of almost half the population of the earth, second to none in the richness of its human talents and energy, possessing vast material resources, and encompassing the central land mass of the earth, Asia and the Pacific region lie at the heart of the task of creating a stable structure of world peace. Since the Second World War it is only in this region that developments have impelled America to send her sons to war. Asia and the Pacific includes territories of the seven most populous and the three wealthiest powers, with all that implies for the vital nature of their interests. A Pacific power ourselves, our purity and economic interests are inextricably involved with the future of Asia.
It is therefore essential to our national well-being that we accept the truth and that our policies reflect the fact-that an era has ended in Asia.