U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin used a speech at Asia’s top regional security conference to reassure U.S. security allies and partners of Washington’s commitment to the Asia-Pacific as the White House is preoccupied with the conflicts raging in Ukraine and Gaza.
“Despite these historic clashes in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific has remained our priority theater of operations,” Austin said Saturday at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, noting that "the United States can be secure only if Asia is."
“Because just as what happens in Europe, and the Middle East matters to this region, the actions that we take together here will continue shaping the 21st century for the entire world,” Austin said, adding: “We are all in. And we're not going anywhere.”
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