United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will embark on a four-nation trip including India from next week, according to the official statement released by the U.S. Department of Defence. The first stop in his four-nation trip is Tokyo where he will meet with Japanese Defence Minister Yasukasu Hamada and other senior leaders and visit U.S. troops stationed in Japan.
The visit precedes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to White House next month.
According to the statement, Secretary Austin's visit comes as the United States and Japan take important strides to modernise Alliance capabilities, optimise U.S. force posture, and build links with like-minded partners following the historic US-Japan "2+2" Ministerial meeting earlier this year.