U. S Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III will depart this week for a trip to Australia, the Philippines, Laos and Fiji to participate in a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings aimed at enhancing security partnerships across the Indo-Pacific region.
“These engagements will drive ongoing efforts to modernise our alliances and partnerships toward our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Pentagon Press Secretary, Major General Pat Ryder.
“As part of his twelfth official visit to the region, Secretary Austin will first travel to Darwin, Australia for multilateral meetings with regional allies and engagements with U.S Marines from the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin.
“From there, Secretary Austin will make his fourth visit to the Philippines, where he will advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with U.S and Philippine forces.
“In Laos, Secretary Austin will participate in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus on 21 November, reaffirm the U.S commitment to ASEAN centrality at the ASEAN-United States Informal Meeting, and identify future areas of cooperation with regional counterparts.
“Secretary Austin will conclude his trip in Fiji, marking the first ever visit by a U.S Secretary of Defence, and will meet with key Fijian leaders to deepen the bilateral defence relationship,” said Major General Ryder.
Secretary Austin’s trip comes as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with like-minded countries to strengthen regional security.
