{"id":67583,"date":"2024-07-26T16:09:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T16:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2024\/07\/26\/with-11th-trip-austin-works-to-cement-legacy-in-indo-pacific\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:08:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:08:32","slug":"with-11th-trip-austin-works-to-cement-legacy-in-indo-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2024\/07\/26\/with-11th-trip-austin-works-to-cement-legacy-in-indo-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"With 11th trip, Austin works to cement legacy in Indo-Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the last four years, Pentagon leaders have often described their efforts in Asia with a Woody Allen quote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA key part of success is just showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They have numbers to back it up. When Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin heads to the Indo-Pacific on Friday, he will be on his 11th trip to the strategically vital region \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/history.defense.gov\/DOD-History\/Secretary-of-Defense-Travels\/\" target=\"_blank\">the second-most of any secretary this century<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the trip will also test the endurance of that presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2024\/06\/01\/all-in-austin-defends-us-focus-on-indo-pacific-amid-global-upheaval\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/53760889076_8aee80f791_o.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018All in\u2019: Austin defends US focus on Indo-Pacific amid global upheaval<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">In the last three years, the U.S. has expanded its number of security partners, deepened existing agreements and encouraged them to work closely together.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Joe Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2024\/07\/21\/biden-drops-out-of-2024-race\/\" target=\"_blank\">decision not to run for reelection<\/a> has scrambled the 2024 race, making it harder for America\u2019s allies to predict who they will be working with come January. It also marks a new era for officials in the Pentagon, who are trying to secure their work with partners around the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nowhere is this more true than in Japan and the Philippines, where Austin will join Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/12\/14\/blinken-vows-more-us-military-might-in-indo-pacific-to-push-back-against-china\/\" target=\"_blank\">Antony Blinken<\/a> for a week of meetings. These two countries are part of a renaissance in Indo-Pacific security, in which states are hedging against Beijing and working with each other more often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The summit is about making this progress last, multiple analysts said, even if America\u2019s next president remains uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of American\u2019s success in shoring up its network of Indo-Pacific allies comes down to a rare alignment of America-friendly leaders in the region and a focused White House, said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who focuses on U.S. strategy in Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey want to take as much advantage of that [alignment] as possible,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10 days<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a briefing just before the trip, senior defense officials outlined the meetings planned for the next two weeks and what they hope to get out of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re about to kick off the 10 most consequential days for U.S. defense ties in the Indo-Pacific since the start of the administration,\u201d a senior Pentagon official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23164576701600.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-108047\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23164576701600.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23164576701600.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23164576701600.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Secretary of State Antony Blinken will join Austin for a week of meetings in Japan and the Philippines. (Carolyn Kaster\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin will meet with his Japanese and Philippine counterparts, along with those from India and Australia \u2014 some one-on-one and some in groups. In addition, defense officials from Japan, South Korea and the U.S. will meet in Tokyo. It\u2019s the first time such a forum has occurred in either Japan or South Korea, which until recently were feuding over the legacy of Japan\u2019s colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In those meetings, the Pentagon plans to announce a variety of new ways that each military will work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japan is doubling its defense budget and growing the narrow role of its Self Defense Forces. As Tokyo\u2019s military prepares to take on larger roles, the U.S. is restructuring its command in Japan so that the two can coordinate better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two countries will agree to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/asia-pacific\/2024\/01\/18\/japan-buys-hundreds-of-tomahawk-missiles-from-united-states\/\" target=\"_blank\">build or repair more weapons together<\/a>, including planes, ships and missiles \u2014 particularly those for Patriot, an air defense system that has proven crucial to Ukraine\u2019s self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2024\/04\/12\/us-japan-s-korea-hold-drills-in-disputed-sea-as-biden-hosts-leaders\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24103088899159.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US, Japan, S Korea hold drills in disputed sea as Biden hosts leaders<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A number of U.S. and South Korean guided missile destroyers and a Japanese warship joined for drills in the disputed East China Sea.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And lastly, the U.S. and Japan will discuss military operations in the southwest Japanese islands, where Tokyo is permanently basing soldiers for the first time. The U.S. would like to eventually send troops of its own there as it tries to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2023\/12\/29\/new-in-2024-marines-start-moving-from-japan-to-new-base-on-guam\/\" target=\"_blank\">spread its forces around the region<\/a>, but such efforts have been met with local reluctance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Philippines, the U.S. will announce $500 million in long-term security aid, meant to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/training-sim\/2024\/06\/04\/us-philippines-expand-exercise-to-territorial-edges-amid-tension-with-china\/\" target=\"_blank\">help Manila defend against China in the South China Sea<\/a>. The two countries will also agree on a \u201croad map\u201d of military spending over the next five to 10 years, work on a plan to securely share information and discuss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2023\/12\/26\/new-in-2024-increased-us-partnership-with-the-philippines\/\" target=\"_blank\">new military sites <\/a>where the U.S. can operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Institutionalizing<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While addressing logistical issues involving basing and partnerships, Austin\u2019s trip will also seek to buttress the work America has done in Asia over the last four years, according to Victor Cha, a former Asia official for the National Security Council during the George W. Bush presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat the administration has been good at is to try to institutionalize these things so they can outlast this administration,\u201d Cha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Much of that work, he said, has involved gathering together small groups of countries in the region. Another defense official speaking before the trip said to expect even more of that, with the U.S. seeking to set a tempo for how often these countries \u2014 such as Japan and South Korea \u2014 will meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1250\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24017140601557.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"In this photo provided by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, left, sails with South Korean Navy's Aegis destroyer King Sejong the Great and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force Aegis destroyer Kongou in the international waters of the southern coast of Korean peninsular during a recent joint drill in 2024.\" class=\"wp-image-108048\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24017140601557.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24017140601557.jpg.jpg?resize=300,188 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24017140601557.jpg.jpg?resize=768,480 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24017140601557.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,640 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP24017140601557.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,960 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, left, sails with South Korean and Japanese naval ships in a joint drill in 2024. Defense officials from the three countries will meet in Tokyo, the first time such a forum has occurred in either Japan or South Korea. (South Korea&#8217;s Joint Chiefs of Staff via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first official argued that, while U.S. policy on China is not uniform, it has become much more bipartisan on Capitol Hill as the threat from Beijing becomes clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If there\u2019s one area that the Donald Trump and Biden administrations have mostly agreed on, it\u2019s been a strong stance against Beijing. Trump was close to the leaders of Japan and Australia, and helped push the increased China focus.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/2019\/07\/30\/why-did-trump-attack-the-us-japan-security-alliance\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18108831678302.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">How Trump\u2019s attacks on the US-Japan security alliance could affect readiness<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Experts pinpointed two critical issues that could have motivated Trump\u2019s remarks: upcoming trade negotiations with Japan, and the expiration of an agreement dictating how much funding Japan contributes to host U.S. troops.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s not clear whether future leaders in the region will show the same patience \u2014 particularly in Japan, where former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe famously never responded when criticized by Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the forces motivating their cooperation aren\u2019t likely to change. China has become more aggressive around the Philippines and Taiwan. And North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons, spooking Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the eve of what could be Austin\u2019s last official trip to the region, the secretary noted the Pentagon\u2019s wins in Asia during his tenure at a press conference this week, even China itself played a role in those as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019ve achieved more in three-and-a-half years than Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump did,\u201d said Michael Green, a former National Security Council member. \u201cA lot of that is thanks to Xi Jinping.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made the second-most trips to the Indo-Pacific region of any secretary this century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":79613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3458],"class_list":["post-67583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"OW7CSLROWJF5TIHJCGRVNL3774","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2024\/07\/26\/with-11th-trip-austin-works-to-cement-legacy-in-indo-pacific\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>With 11th trip, Austin works to cement legacy in Indo-Pacific - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made the second-most trips to the Indo-Pacific region of any secretary this century.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With 11th trip, Austin works to cement legacy in Indo-Pacific\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made the second-most trips to the Indo-Pacific region of any secretary this century.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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