John Kerry actually said...

"We are the force that has been helping to bring parties together to defend our interests in the South China Sea."

"U.S. presence and leadership does matter, and that is why our rebalance to the Asia-Pacific has been supported and welcomed by people throughout the region."

"this committee stands up for an active, internationalist American foreign policy that is in our interests."

"We have an obligation to exhaust every diplomatic possibility to find out whether we could prove what the Iranians say, that their program is peaceful."