Southeast Asian defense chiefs and representatives are meeting in the Laotian capital on Wednesday for security talks at a time of increasing maritime disputes with China in the Asia-Pacific and as the transition to a new U.S. president looms.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was set to join the meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers in Vientiane, where many will be looking for assurances ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to power in January.
