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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III is expected to push for increased cooperation and assurance of smooth US administration change, during his trip to Australia this week.
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The US official has recently announced plans to travel to Australia, the Philippines, Laos, and Fiji to participate in a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings.
Austin will initially travel to Darwin for multilateral meetings with regional allies and engagements with US Marines from Marine Rotational Force - Darwin during his 12th official visit to 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,” Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder said.
“Secretary Austin will make his fourth visit to the Philippines, where he will advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with US and Philippine forces.
“In Laos, Secretary Austin will participate in the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus on November 21, reaffirm the US 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 US Secretary of Defense, and will meet with key Fijian leaders to deepen the bilateral defence relationship.
“Secretary Austin’s trip comes as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with like-minded countries to strengthen regional security.”
It’s expected that allies in the Indo-Pacific will be seeking assurances of a smooth change in government, following the results of the US presidential election earlier this month which sees former president Donald Trump return to office.
In addition, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles has recently met with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C Teodoro Jr during the inaugural Australia-Philippines Defence Ministers’ Meeting in Canberra
During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Marles and Secretary of National Defense Teodoro reportedly discussed opportunities for Australia and the Philippines to deepen defence cooperation, including through military exercises, regular maritime cooperative activities, and multilateral coordination.
“Australia and the Philippines have a shared commitment to regional security and we have a common vision for the region, where sovereignty is upheld,” the Deputy PM said.
