Secretary of Defense Spokesperson CAPT Jeff Davis provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with ministers and heads of delegation from across Southeast Asia on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1 to discuss the United States’ vision and strategy for the Indo-Pacific region and to listen to their perspectives on security challenges and opportunities for increased cooperation.
Secretary Mattis had a robust exchange of views with the ministers and representatives on regional security issues, focusing on counterterrorism and maritime security cooperation and prospects for a peaceful resolution of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Participants welcomed strong U.S. engagement in the region and expressed appreciation for U.S.-ASEAN cooperation.
Secretary Mattis reaffirmed support for ASEAN centrality and the U.S. vision for a region in which every voice is heard and respected.
They highlighted the importance of ASEAN speaking with one voice, and welcomed continued progress in fostering practical defense cooperation within the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) framework, and looked forward to the conduct of the sixth ADMM-Plus in October of this year.