Let me give a brief snapshot of just some of these capabilities：
Japan hosts our 7th Fleet and Third Marine Expeditionary Force; the USS Ronald Reagan, our only forward－deployed aircraft carrier; ballistic missile defense assets, including Aegis destroyers and Patriot units; and more than 54,000 military personnel. This capability enables unparalleled operational cooperation and lets us project strength together in support of regional stability.
South Korea hosts 28,500 U.S. service members; two fighter wings of F－16 and A－10 aircraft; and a host of other forces, including a Terminal High－Altitude Area Defense battery. Together, we deter aggression on the Korean peninsula, support the path of diplomacy to achieve the final fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, and uphold the international rule of law.
With the Philippines, we have 280 bilateral defense activities planned for 2019 alone. Our flagship Exercise BALIKATAN this year incorporated fifth generation F－35 fighters for the first time. We also rotate U.S. troops through the southern Philippines to help our allies combat terrorism.
With Australia, we are pushing the sophistication of our alliance capabilities through our Enhanced Aircraft Cooperation initiative and Marine Rotational Forces－Darwin. These initiatives enable our alliance to deepen interoperability and expand our cooperative capacity in our home region, just as the alliance has contributed to shared objectives globally for decades.
Thailand continues to host Exercise COBRA GOLD – the largest multilateral exercise in the Indo－Pacific – and we are working with Congress following the recent Thai elections to fully return our defense cooperation to the levels appropriate for our longest－standing treaty partner in Asia.
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