US Defense Secretary to visit Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines this week

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington, D.C., June 17, 2021. Photo by Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein.

The US Pentagon have announced that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines starting this Friday July 23rd, 2021.

The will be the first visit to Southeast Asia by a top member of the Biden administration, and demonstrates the importance it places on the region and on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as an essential part of the Indo-Pacific architecture, Pentagon press secretary John F. Kirby said.

"This trip will underscore the enduring U.S. commitment to the region, and our interest in upholding the rules-based international order in the region and promoting ASEAN centrality."

There is no specific timeline yet for his visit to Vietnam but he "will meet with key leaders to reaffirm defense relationships and conduct bilateral meetings with senior officials."

He will speak at Singapore Event

In Singapore, he will speak at an event hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

At the Special ASEAN - U.S. Foreign Ministerial Meeting held virtually on July 14 and chaired by Lao Foreign Minister Saleumsay Kommasith and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the two sides emphasized the importance of peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, known in Vietnam as the East Sea.

The two sides also expect to soon have an effective Code of Conduct in the sea in accordance with international laws and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that respects the legitimate rights and interests of all related parties.

With all the international media attention on how China seems to be muscling in on the South China Sea, this visit could not be taking place at a more opportune time.