WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters): US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit South-East Asia later this month, the Pentagon said, a trip that will include stops in the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, according to the US embassy in Hanoi.
"Secretary Austin's visit will demonstrate the importance the Biden-Harris Administration places on Southeast Asia and on ASEAN as an essential part of the Indo-Pacific's architecture," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc.