US defense chief to visit Philippines, South Korea

January 23 ------ US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea and the Philippines within a few weeks to step up cooperation with the two countries, a Pentagon spokesman said.

Austin will meet with senior government and military officials during the trip, which will be a "reaffirmation of our deep commitment to working in concert with allies and partners to chart our shared vision to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to Pat Ryder, press secretary of the Defense Department.

The announcement made during a press briefing comes after the top foreign and defense officials of the United States and Japan held a meeting last week in Washington. During the so-called two-plus-two meeting, Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken along with their Japanese counterparts Yasukazu Hamada and Yoshimasa Hayashi agreed to bolster deterrence against China, North Korea and Russia.

Such US efforts to reinforce deterrence with its key allies in the Indo-Pacific region will also likely be discussed in South Korea and the Philippines.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com