U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is using his first Far East Asia trip as Pentagon chief to try to convince allies that the Iraq war has not weakened America's commitment to the region. «While we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global war on terror, we have no intention of neglecting Asia,» Gates told reporters at U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday. He met there with Adm. Timothy Keating, chief of the Pacific Command, before they flew together to Singapore to attend an Asia-Pacific security conference. The Singapore visit also is an opportunity for Gates to meet separately with his counterparts from several Asian nations, including South Korea. Also attending the weekend conference will be Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gates will address the conference on Saturday to highlight U.S. military humanitarian efforts in Asia and the Pacific and to underscore U.S. efforts to continue cooperation in counterterrorism campaigns.
