Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Concludes Eleventh Visit to the Indo-Pacific

View Online IMMEDIATE RELEASE Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Concludes Eleventh Visit to the Indo-Pacific July 31, 2024 Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Ms. Sabrina Singh provided the following release: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III concluded his eleventh official visit to the Indo-Pacific region today after a historic series of engagements with counterparts and other senior officials in Japan and the Philippines. During his trip, Secretary Austin met in Tokyo with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru, and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko for the 2024 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee — or "2+2" — meeting. Following the 2+2 meeting, the four officials announced historic steps to modernize Alliance roles, missions, and capabilities; expand defense industry cooperation; and enhance alignment with allies and partners. The four ministers also convened a historic ministerial meeting on Extended Deterrence. While in Tokyo, Secretary Austin, Minister Kihara, and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik held the first Trilateral Ministerial Meeting (TMM) to ever take place in either Japan or the ROK, where they signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework to further institutionalize their three countries' security partnership. In addition to holding bilateral meetings with Minister Kihara and Minister Shin, Secretary Austin also joined Secretary Blinken for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, where the three officials highlighted the unprecedented momentum by the United States and Japan following Prime Minister Kishida's April 2024 State Visit. After arriving in Manila, Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to underscore the historic strength of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance, reaffirm ironclad U.S. support for the Philippines in defending its sovereign rights, and discuss ways to continue working more closely with like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific region. Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken then joined their Philippine counterparts, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, for the fourth U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue – the first to ever take place in Manila. Together, the four officials discussed opportunities to strengthen regional peace, stability, and prosperity in the face of shared challenges. In a separate bilateral meeting with Secretary Teodoro, Secretary Austin welcomed the historic announcements from the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on Foreign Military Financing for the Philippines and the conclusion of a Security Sector Assistance Roadmap. During his final day in the Philippines, Secretary Austin visited Subic Bay, where he visited a Philippine Navy facility and toured several defense industrial sites to underscore the area's historic opportunities for defense industrial cooperation by the United States, the Philippines, and other regional allies and partners. Secretary Austin's eleventh trip to the Indo-Pacific came as the Department of Defense continues to achieve historic results with U.S. allies like Japan and the Philippines toward a shared regional vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. On August 6, Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken will host their Australian counterparts — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Penny Wong — in Annapolis, Maryland, for the 2024 Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), marking the conclusion of a historic ten-day series of engagements by Secretary Austin with Indo-Pacific allied counterparts.

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