Lloyd Austin with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong during her visit to Annapolis, Maryland, in August. Photo: Samuel Phelps/DFAT
OUTGOING US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin is to visit Australia this week as part of a regional tour to shore up regional alliances.
Pentagon spokesman Major-General Pat Ryder says Austin will visit Australia, the Philippines, Laos and Fiji for bilateral and multilateral meetings.
The visit comes after the confirmed deployment of North Korean troops in Russia’s war on Ukraine.
“These engagements will drive ongoing efforts to modernise our alliances and partnerships toward our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Maj-Gen Ryder says.
Austin’s upcoming official nine-day trip will be his 12th to the region.
“Secretary Austin will first travel to Darwin for multilateral meetings with regional allies and engagements with US Marines from the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin,” Maj-Gen Ryder says.
“From there, he 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, Austin will take part in the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus on November 21.
Maj-Gen Ryder says he is expected to reaffirm US commitment at the ASEAN-United States Informal Meeting and identify future areas of co-operation with regional counterparts.
“Secretary Austin will conclude his trip in Fiji, marking the first ever visit by a US Secretary of Defence, and will meet with key Fijian leaders to deepen the bilateral defence relationship,” Maj-Gen Ryder says.
The Pentagon says the trip is part of US efforts to build unprecedented co-operation in strengthening regional security.
Ryder refused to confirm media reports of up to 50,000 North Korean troops now fighting with Russia in Ukraine but says the US is “watching closely” and consulting with their allies.
Donald Trump will be sworn in as US President on January 20 to complete the official transfer of power to the new administration with a new Defence Secretary yet to be confirmed.
