Herbert McMaster (left), former National Security Advisor in the first Trump administration, speaks at a roundtable discussion at the Asia Society in New York on Feb. 9 (local time). [Yonhap News] 

Herbert McMaster, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and former National Security Advisor in the first Donald Trump administration, predicted on Feb. 9 (local time) that the United States would support Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's bid to revise the peace constitution from the perspective of Donald Trump's "peace through strength" global security doctrine.

At a roundtable discussion hosted by the Asia Society in New York, McMaster said, "We (the U.S.) will support the Self-Defense Forces in Japan building up their defense capabilities, and if Prime Minister Takaichi goes beyond reinterpreting the constitution and attempts to revise it, we will likely support it," adding, "Because that is peace through strength."

The Liberal Democratic Party government led by Prime Minister Takaichi secured more than two-thirds of the seats on its own in the general election (House of Representatives election) held on the 8th, paving the way for constitutional revision, a long-held aspiration of the Japanese right wing.

Prime Minister Takaichi has expressed her intention to pursue constitutional revision, including enshrining the "Self-Defense Forces" in the constitution.

McMaster pointed out, "The most important thing for us right now is to ensure that we are not drawn into major work happening in the Indo-Pacific region. This can only be prevented through strength."

His argument is that potential adversaries like China must be made unable to achieve their goals through the use of force, making the costs and risks of using force unbearable.

Regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, McMaster also stated, "They (Russia) saw a weakness in Ukraine," pointing out that recognizing weakness leads to provocation.

Daniel Russell, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and current Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute, who participated in the discussion, said, "I think the term 'strategic ambiguity' is a misnomer. It means the final decision on war or peace is made by the commander-in-chief based on the circumstances at the time, not that there should be ambiguity regarding America's commitments or capabilities."

In this regard, McMaster expressed his agreement, saying, "I used to use the situation in Korea in June 1950 as an example with our counterparts on the Chinese side. That the misjudgment that the U.S. would not be willing to defend South Korea led to countless casualties in North Korea and China."

McMaster, a retired Army general, served as National Security Advisor in the early days of the first Trump administration when tensions between the U.S. and North Korea escalated over the North Korean nuclear issue. He resigned from his position after about 13 months due to conflicts with President Trump during his tenure as National Security Advisor.