Panetta to Travel to Singapore, Vietnam, India
This article was originally posted on May 22 to the Department of Defense
website.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Washington - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta will leave next week for a
weeklong trip to Asia, Pentagon press secretary George Little announced May
22.
Panetta will leave May 30 to participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue in
Singapore and will then travel to Vietnam and India.
On the way to Asia, he will visit with the head of the U.S. Pacific
Command, Navy Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, at his headquarters in Hawaii as
well as with service members assigned there.
The secretary then flies to Singapore to deliver remarks at the opening
plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he is expected to speak about
U.S. defense policy in an era of austerity.
He will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Singapore,
Japan, South Korea, Australia and other nations, Little said.
Panetta will then travel to Vietnam for a two-day visit. "The United States
has a long-term commitment to advancing a strong bilateral defense relationship
with Vietnam that is based on mutual trust and understanding," Little said.
"This visit will afford us an opportunity to continue to work on that very
important relationship."
Panetta will go on to India for a two-day visit. "Further developing the
U.S.-India relationship is a priority for the United States government, and our
bilateral relationship is one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century
for the United States," Little said.
Little stressed the central role of the Asia-Pacific region in U.S.
strategic guidance. "The secretary, when he was last in Asia, previewed much of
that strategy," he said. "He talked about the United States being a Pacific
nation and a Pacific power."
The Asia-Pacific region is vital to U.S. national security interests and
will be in the future, Little said.
"We are absolutely turning toward the Asia-Pacific as a place where our
strategic interests are increasingly of importance," he said. "Our partnerships
... in the region are critical. And we're going to continue to invest in those
relationships."
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State.)
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