Austin's 11th Visit to Indo-Pacific Builds Upon Sustained Momentum With Key Partners

Secretary of Protection Lloyd J. Austin III is embarking on his eleventh journey to the Indo-Pacific in the present day amid what officers stated is a landmark interval for U.S. ties all through the area.

The ten-day sequence of engagements will embody stops in Japan and the Philippines because the Protection Division continues to strengthen partnerships to help a shared imaginative and prescient for peace, stability and deterrence all through the area. It’ll additionally embody high-level talks with Australian officers in Annapolis, Maryland, the place the secretary will meet along with his counterpart.

Whereas in Japan, Austin and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will meet with Japanese Protection Minister Minoru Kihara and International Minister Yoko Kamikawa as a part of this yr’s U.S.- Japan Safety Consultative Committee assembly in Tokyo.

Austin and Kihara may also meet individually with South Korean protection minister for the primary trilateral Ministerial Assembly, a key element of the U.S., South Korea and Japan safety cooperation dialogue. 

From Tokyo, Austin and Blinken will journey to Manila, the Philippines, the place they are going to meet with Protection Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and International Secretary Enrique Manalo as a part of the fourth U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

After returning to the U.S., Austin and Blinken will host Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Protection Minister Richard Marles and International Minister Penny Wong for this yr’s Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations.

The sequence of engagements mark a continuation of President Joe Biden’s technique of sustained engagement in america’ precedence theater of operations.  

“I do know that it is simple to concentrate on the disaster of the day, however simply have a look at what our technique has achieved within the Indo-Pacific over the previous 3 1/2 years,” Austin stated yesterday throughout a joint press convention with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees Air Power Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., on the Pentagon.

The secretary famous that the U.S. has practically doubled its navy development investments within the Indo-Pacific over the past fiscal yr and has continued to make important enhancements to its drive posture within the area.

The U.S. has additionally led the way in which in uniting a broad community of companions centered on fixing key regional challenges.   

“Our ties with Australia are stronger than ever,” Austin stated. “We have improved {our relationships} with Vietnam, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and lots of extra.” 

In previewing Austin’s go to to the area, protection officers stated the sequence of high-level talks will mark a vital waypoint for U.S. engagement within the area.  

“We’re about to kick off the ten most consequential days for U.S. protection ties within the Indo-Pacific for the reason that begin of the administration because the secretary participates in a fast succession of premier protection and diplomacy dialogues with three regional allies,” a senior protection official stated this week.  

Austin’s engagements along with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo will construct upon final summer time’s Camp David summit with President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, which paved the way in which for what White Home officers known as “a brand new period of trilateral partnership” among the many three international locations.

The trade between the three protection ministers will mark the primary iteration of the Trilateral Minister’s assembly to be held in Japan and the primary time in 15 years since a South Korean Protection Minister has visited Tokyo.  

“I feel this displays the actually essential management and political braveness in Tokyo and South Korea to reconcile among the historic challenges that they’ve confronted in that relationship,” the official stated. “There was an actual dedication, together with from President Biden, to convey these companions collectively.”

He added that senior leaders within the division have labored all through their complete careers on forging ties between Japan and South Korea. 

“I feel that what we now have seen for the reason that Camp David talks, when President Biden introduced the leaders collectively, is only a new period in trilateral cooperation the place these companions are prepared to do issues which are unprecedented and to deepen cooperation in a method that basically is new,” the official stated.   

At Camp David, the three heads of state agreed to a sequence of initiatives to strengthen safety cooperation via enhanced interoperability, info sharing and coordination. The summit additionally paved the way in which for improved cooperation on ballistic missile protection and a multiyear framework for annual, trilateral workouts.   

Because the summit, the three international locations have made concrete progress within the trade of real-time, missile-warning information to detect and assess ballistic missiles launched by North Korea.   

This summer time, the U.S., Japan and South Korea additionally accomplished the primary iteration of Freedom Edge, a trilateral, multidomain train centered on cooperative ballistic missile protection, air protection, antisubmarine warfare, search and rescue, and maritime interdiction. 

Whereas in Tokyo, the three protection ministers are anticipated to construct on the momentum gained for the reason that summit and additional institutionalize the trilateral cooperation, a senior protection official stated.  

Austin and Blinken may also spotlight new bilateral pathways with Japan U.S.- Japan Safety Consultative Committee assembly the place the leaders will spotlight the 2 international locations’ rising cooperation on protection gear and know-how.  

“This industrial cooperation will bolster alliance deterrence by figuring out procurement and readiness necessities and increasing manufacturing capability, notably for superior missiles like Patriot PAC-3 interceptors,” the official stated.

In Manila, Austin and Blinken may also construct upon latest strides within the long-standing U.S.-Filipino protection relationship. 

The 2 international locations have just lately designated 4 new U.S. rotational entry websites within the Philippines as a part of the 2023 enlargement of the Enhanced Protection Cooperation Settlement, which was first signed in 2014.   

The 9 websites are designed to strengthen mixed coaching, workouts and interoperability between the 2 international locations. 

Throughout their go to, Austin and Blinken will announce that the U.S. is offering $500 million in overseas navy financing via the latest nationwide safety supplemental handed by Congress within the spring. 

“This unprecedented provision of safety help, which is an order of magnitude higher that what we have just lately offered to the Philippines on an annual foundation shall be a important enabler of the Philippine protection moderation already underway,” the official stated.