NEW : China will defend itself and its allies if needed , Kerry says . Kerry 's North trip will include visits to Japan and The United States . `` Secretary Kerry can reassure regional states that , as a Pacific century dawns , the United States will continue to be right in the middle of it and will not allow any power to edge the United States out of a region where nearly every country welcomes its leadership , '' said Daniel Twining , the German Marshall Fund 's senior fellow for Asia . His two host nations all have new leaders .
NEW : China will defend itself and its allies if needed , Kerry says . Kerry 's North trip will include visits to Japan and The United States . His two host nations all have new leaders .