President Obama is to begin his first trip to Asia as president this week, striding along a trail blazed by his straight-talking secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.

Stripped of diplomatic lingo, Gates has insisted recently that the Japanese proceed with a realignment of U.S. forces as agreed after 15 years of negotiation. He has insisted that China stop disrupting military exchanges whenever the U.S. takes a position that displeases Beijing. And he has insisted that Koreans not delay accepting full responsibility for the defense of their own nation.

Undoubtedly, Asian leaders will be watching to see whether President Obama will be equally firm as he travels to Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, with a stop in Singapore to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and to meet with Southeast Asian leaders.

A senior member of the National Security Council staff, Jeffrey Bader, said Friday the president's message would be that "the U.S. is here to stay in Asia." Bader also said the president would "speak very directly" to Chinese leaders on human rights and other issues with "toughness and adaptability."

The question with Japan is execution of a plan to move the Futenma Marine Air Station in Okinawa out of a city to a less constricted area; to transfer 17,000 Marines, civilians and dependents from Okinawa to Guam; and to return to Okinawans land used by U.S. forces. The new government in Tokyo, led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party, wants to reopen the issue.

Gates said in Tokyo: "Our view is clear. The Futenma relocation facility is the linchpin of the realignment road map. Without the Futenma realignment there will be no relocation to Guam. And without relocation to Guam, there will be no consolidation of forces and the return of land in Okinawa."

Among the critical issues with China are exchanges in which Chinese and U.S. officers visit each other's forces and discuss military concerns. When General Xu Caihou, who is among the most senior officers of the Peoples Liberation Army, was in Washington, D.C., recently, Gates emphasized that military relations are key to the overall Sino-U.S. relationship.

The Pentagon spokesman, Geoff Morrell, said Gates told Xu "there is a need to break the on-again, off-again cycle of our military-to-military relationship." Often, Morrell said, China suspends exchanges to show its displeasure with Washington, the most recent having been an interruption after the U.S. announced arms sales to Taiwan, China's rival, in October 2008. The spokesman said Gates told Xu "that cycle has to end."

In response, the official Chinese press reported that Xu demanded that the U.S. stop arms sales to Taiwan, keep U.S. military aircraft and ships out of China's exclusive economic zone, and overcome a "lack of strategic trust" with China. He further said China had "no room to make concessions" on core issues such as sovereignty over Taiwan.

In Korea, the question is Seoul's assumption of authority and responsibility for national defense, which is shared with the U.S. now. The U.S. and South Korea have agreed that will take place in 2012 but, Korean officials said, President Lee Myung-bak and defense officials want to delay that shift for several years, asserting that Korea is not ready.

Gates, in Korea recently, sought to head off delays, asserting Korea's armed forces are "well positioned to take the lead in the combined defense of this country." Gates quoted President Lee as saying that Korean forces must "adapt and transform to new environments and new types of threats" to protect the homeland and to "carry out roles commensurate with its growing stature as a global Korea."

As he begins his Asian venture in Tokyo, President Obama's agenda calls for a policy address in which he lays out his vision for America's future in Asia.