WASHINGTON — The United States says its alliance with Japan will remain its cornerstone relationship in the Asia-Pacific as it expands engagement in the region.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the US is the midst of a strategic pivot to deepen its ties in the East as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq wind down.

She said US aid involving 20,000 American personnel after the March quake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan in March underscored the strength of the alliance.

She said the US is committed to reversing a nearly 50% decline in Japanese studying in America over the past 14 years.

Clinton was addressing a conference in Washington organized by the US-Japan Council.