WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2019) US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday will begin a trip throughout Asia to discuss regional security matters with his counterparts in South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Esper will first visit South Korea to attend the 51st US-South Korean Security Consultative Meeting where he will meet with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and other senior South Korean officials. Esper and his counterpart will discuss the bilateral defense partnership, security in the Indo-Pacific region and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Thailand will be the next stop on Esper's schedule, where he will attend the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus, which includes Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.
Esper will meet with key officials, which the Pentagon did not provide details about, to discuss security matter with the aim of strengthening bilateral defense relationships.
The US defense chief will then visit the Philippines to meet his counterpart Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana. Both military leaders will discuss bilateral matters including strengthening regional security to uphold international rules in the area.
Esper concludes his trip with a stop in Vietnam where he will meet with his counterpart Vietnamese Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich and other key officials to discuss regional security topics and working to strengthen the bilateral defense relationship.
