Washington DC –
Defense Minister United States of America (Menhan AS), Lloyd Austin, will be the first member of the President’s cabinet Joe Biden who visited the Southeast Asia region this week. The visit emphasized the importance of the US strengthening relations in the region while countering influence China.
As reported Reuters, Monday (26/7/2021), the United States placed countering China at the heart of its national security policy for years, and the Biden administration called the rivalry with China the ‘biggest geopolitical test’ of the century.
Six months into his tenure, Southeast Asian countries are still seeking details on Biden’s strategy as well as his specific plans for economic, trade and military engagement with the Indo-Pacific region.
“You’ll hear me talk a lot about partnerships and the value of partnerships,” Austin told reporters. “My goal is to strengthen the relationship,” he said.
Austin will visit Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. In his speech in Singapore on Tuesday (27/7) and at meetings in Vietnam and the Philippines, Austin will discuss China’s aggressive behavior in the South China Sea and stress the importance of keeping the wider region free and open.
His visit follows the first visit by US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, to China on Sunday (25/7) and Monday (26/7) local time, and coincides with the visit of US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to India — another important US partner in countering China.
Experts see Austin’s visit as important to make clear that Central Asia is a vital component of the Biden administration’s efforts.
“The administration understands that the region is very important, so that’s a big part of it: It just pops up,” said Gregory Poling, senior researcher for Southeast Asia at the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
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