As part of Washington’s outreach to the Indo-Pacific region, US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin is scheduled to visit India next month.
Austin is planning to visit India after visits to Singapore and Japan. According to a statement from the US Department of Defense, he will also visit France.
According to the summary, Secretary Austin will visit U.S. soldiers stationed in Japan and meet with Yasukazu Hamada, the Japanese defense minister, and other top officials while in Tokyo. Following the historic U.S.-Japan “2+2” Ministerial Summit earlier this year, Austin’s visit comes as the United States and Japan take steps to modernize Alliance capabilities, optimize U.S. force posture, and forge connections with like-minded countries.
Austin will next go to Singapore, where he will make a plenary speech at the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). In order to expand U.S. defense ties throughout the region and support Washington’s shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific that is grounded in ASEAN centrality, he will engage with important leaders outside of the Dialogue.
After Singapore, the US defense secretary will travel to New Delhi, where he will have meetings with Rajnath Singh, the defense minister, and other influential people. The statement claims that the US and India are still modernizing their major defense partnership. This visit offers a chance to further existing efforts to increase operational collaboration between the Indian and American military as well as launch new defense innovation and industrial partnership initiatives.
