washington u.s. secretary state rex tillerson underscore washington intent strengthen tie australia japan south korea state department say tuesday move aim reassure ally unnerve campaign rhetoric new president donald trump separate call counterparts three long-time ally agree work closely tackle threats north korea nuclear ambition increase tensions east south china seas state department spokesman mark toner say secretary tillerson reiterate administration intent strengthen military alliances economic partnerships diplomatic cooperation say statement tillerson express interest early meet counterparts express deep respect nations contributions regional security global prosperity democratic institutions rule law say call come time raise concern asia-pacific trump attitude region election campaign trump appear question u.s. alliances tokyo seoul complain share enough cost u.s. security umbrella trump also criticize japan trade policies damage u.s. job recently tie australia strain detail acrimonious phone call trump australian prime minister malcolm turnbull emerge former describe deal two nations refugee resettlement dumb japanese prime minister shinzo abe due visit washington two-day summit trump friday expect focus security tie face rise china trade early tuesday japan kyodo news agency quote japanese foreign minister fumio kishida say tillerson confirm long-standing commitment washington defend japanese territory apply senkakus group small islands china claim call diaoyus state department decline comment kyodo report u.s. defense secretary jim mattis reaffirm america commitment mutual defense treaty japan friday meet abe tokyo call abe late january trump say u.s. security commitment ironclad turnbull leadership question berate trump opinion poll publish monday show support coalition slip low level since take power 17 months ago liberal-national coalition would easily fall election hold tillerson stress cooperation call australia japan south korea