To be hoped more positive message from Mattis persists

In Seoul, he defended the United States' commitment to deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system in the Republic of Korea.

In Tokyo, he restated that the US-Japan security treaty applies to the Diaoyu Islands.

Almost equally provocative, he blamed China for shredding the trust between nations in the region by attempting to dictate the "diplomatic and security and economic conditions of neighboring states".