WASHINGTON -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines from later this week, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby announced Monday, in the first visit to Southeast Asia by a top member of the Biden administration.
Leaving Friday, Austin will stop in Alaska before heading to the region. In Singapore, he will speak at an event hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Kirby said in a statement. Nikkei reported on the planned trip earlier Monday.
