US Defence secretary to visit Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. - AFP

WASHINGTON (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 South-East 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.