US Defense chief to visit Phl next week

United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III will be visiting the Philippines next week, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Austin’s visit to Manila is part of Washington’s “ongoing efforts to modernize our alliances and partnerships toward our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

According to Ryder, Austin will also visit other Indo-Pacific countries such as Australia, Fiji, and Laos.

“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 US Marines from the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin,” he said.

“From there, 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,” he added.

Austin’s visit to Manila is likely to be his final trip to the Philippines as Defense chief, as the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to install a new defense team.

Earlier in the day, Trump announced the nomination of Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran, as his incoming Secretary of Defense.

Austin’s next stop will be Laos, where he is expected to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus to “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 U.S. Secretary of Defense, and will meet with key Fijian leaders to deepen the bilateral defense relationship,” it said.

“Secretary Austin's trip comes as the United States builds on unprecedented cooperation with like-minded countries to strengthen regional security,” he added.