US Defense Secy to visit 4 countries in Indo-Pacific region next week

Washington DC: US Defence Secretary Mark Esper is scheduled to visit South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam in the Indo-Pacific next week, which the Pentagon has identified as "a priority theatre" amidst China's aggressive posturing in the region. "Next Wednesday (November 13) Secretary Esper will depart on a trip to our priority theatre, the Indo-Pacific," Pentagon Press Secretary Jonathan Hoffman said on Thursday. Esper will travel to Seoul, Bangkok, Manila, and Hanoi, he said.