The Defense Department, along with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, is working on critical issues — meaningful issues — that promote stability and security throughout the region, said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.
Austin spoke today at a news briefing in Singapore during the Shangri-La Dialogue.
“It’s important to remember that every time that we come out here, we’re not just coming out to conduct meetings. We’re actually getting things done,” he said.
“That’s the purpose of being out here: to reassure, to make sure that our allies and partners understand that we have a shared vision, a common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and that we are a Pacific nation and we are here to stay,” he said.
“Without personal engagement, it’s very difficult to do some of that. So that’s why we’re here. And that’s why we’ll keep coming back,” Austin said.
Austin met with leaders over the last several days including:
- Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
- Malaysian Minister of Defense Mohamed Khaled Nordin
- Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Singapore Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen
- Trilateral meeting with South Korea Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and Japan Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara
- ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] multilateral meeting with leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor and Vietnam
Austin is also planning additional meetings with world leaders in the days ahead.
