With one hand resting on the mane of a sturdy Mongolian horse, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper invoked the name of one of America’s great Soldiers while seeking to strengthen the military bonds between the U.S. and the landlocked democracy sandwiched between Russia and China.

“I’d like to name this fine-looking horse Marshall, after Gen. George Marshall,” Esper said in early August 2019 as he was presented with a 7-year-old buckskin during a time-honored traditional ceremony at Mongolia’s Ministry of Defense. (Pictured: U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, left, is presented a horse in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, on August 8, 2019, during his visit to the country.)

Esper’s stop in Ulaanbaatar, the third U.S. engagement with Mongolia in recent weeks, underscored its key role in America’s new defense strategy that lists the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia as priority competitors.

With just over 3 million people spread over an area twice the size of Texas, Mongolia has worked to maintain its independence from Beijing and Moscow by increasing its ties to other world powers, including the U.S. It describes the U.S. as a “third neighbor.”

Esper made it clear throughout his weeklong travel across the Indo-Pacific that countering the PRC’s aggressive and destabilizing activities in the region is a top administration priority. The activities, he said, include the PRC’s militarization of man-made islands in the South China Sea, efforts to use predatory economics and debt for sovereignty deals, and a campaign to promote the state-sponsored theft of other nations’ intellectual property.

“We’ve got to be conscious of the toeholds that they’re trying to get into many of these countries,” Esper told reporters traveling with him to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Mongolia.

Esper, who was sworn in as defense secretary in July 2019, said the U.S. is working to build relationships with key countries in the Indo-Pacific that share values and respect for each other’s sovereignty, “whether it’s Mongolia this trip, Vietnam, a future trip, Indonesia, other countries who I think are key.”

His stop in Mongolia was less than 24 hours long, but he told his defense counterpart, Nyamaagiin Enkhbold, that it gives him the “opportunity to look at different ways we can further strengthen the ties” between the two nations.

As he stood outside the ministry, just steps away from a large statue of Mongolia’s famed founder Genghis Khan, Esper recounted a story of Marshall disciplining one of his Soldiers who had struck a Mongolian horse that was being stubborn. Marshall, said Esper, had a high regard for the horses.

As he spoke, the newly named Marshall yawned and stood patiently as Esper patted his neck.

“He’s happy,” Esper said. “He likes his name.”

Esper also presented the horse’s caretaker with a saddle blanket emblazoned with the name and insignia of the U.S. Army’s Old Guard.

The horses, which are bred for endurance, always remain in Mongolia, and the tradition dictates that recipients name them after something they consider important.

Esper’s trip comes on the heels of a visit to the White House by Mongolia’s president, Khaltmaa Battulga.

Esper said he wants to build stronger relationships at senior defense levels.

The State Department’s 2019 budget for foreign operations was explicit in outlining Mongolia’s importance, stating that the primary goals of U.S. assistance are to “ensure the United States remains a preferred partner over geographical neighbors Russia and China.”

Published Date:2019-09-02