Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III will depart on July 26 for a trip to Japan and the Philippines.
As part of his eleventh official visit to the Indo-Pacific region, Secretary Austin will travel to Tokyo for the 2024 U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee — or "2+2" — meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru, and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko. They will also convene a ministerial meeting on Extended Deterrence. While in Tokyo, Secretary Austin will join a historic Trilateral Ministerial Meeting (TMM) with Minister Kihara and Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik — the first to ever take place in either Japan or the ROK — and he will also meet with other senior Japanese officials.
From Tokyo, Secretary Austin will travel to the Philippines, where he will meet in Manila with Secretary Blinken and their Philippine counterparts, Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo, for the fourth U.S.-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
After returning to the United States, Secretary Austin and Secretary Blinken will host their Australian counterparts — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Penny Wong — in Annapolis, Maryland, for the 2024 Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) on August 6, where the officials will discuss the Unbreakable Alliance between Australia and the United States.
Over the course of ten days, Secretary Austin will engage counterparts from four U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific as the Department of Defense continues to strengthen U.S. relationships with regional allies and partners in support of a shared vision for peace, stability, and deterrence.