US Department of Defense Chief Lloyd Austin will visit the Philippines this week to enhance security cooperation.
According to the US Defense Department, this trip is part of his twelfth official visit to regional allies.
Austin will first travel to Australia for multilateral meetings and engagements with US Marines before flying to Manila.
“Secretary Austin will first travel to Darwin, Australia for multilateral meetings with regional allies and engagements with U.S. Marines from the Marine Rotational Force-Darwin. From there, Secretary Austin will make his fourth visit to the Philippines, where he will advance security objectives with Philippine leaders and meet with U.S. and Philippine forces,” the statement read.
After the Philippines, he will also visit Laos and Fiji.
In Australia, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. meanwhile said he does not expect the administration of President-elect Donald Trump to demand that the Philippines pay more for military support and protection because both Manila and Washington face the shared threat of Beijing.
Teodoro made the statement at a press conference with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles following the Philippines-Australia Defense Ministers’ Meeting in Canberra on Tuesday.
“I really don’t expect some sort of statement from Mr. Trump. Hopefully not,” Teodoro, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said. “I really don’t have any preconditions or any assumptions as to what will be the outcome of this administration, except on what we are working on, on institutional ties this time.”
“That is undoubtedly the overreach and the aggressive and illegal activities of China.”
Teodoro said he believes the two countries’ ties will remain unchanged under the Trump administration.
“Then again, our ties go back several years, and there may be some nuances in our relationship, but the general policy remains the same, and we are very thankful for the bipartisan support that the Philippines has received from the US Congress,” he said.
