Washington: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis will meet his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman in the Philippines this week at a conference of ASEAN defence ministers, the top Pentagon leader said today.
The bilateral meeting between Mattis and Ms Sitharaman will take place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers' Meeting in the Philippines that begins today and ends on October 25.
"I will have meetings while I'm in the Philippines at the ASEAN meeting with regional counterparts - Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines of course, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia," Mattis told reporters travelling with him to Philippines.
This would be the first meeting between the two leaders after Mattis' successful trip to India last month.
Mattis said the ASEAN defence ministers' meeting will be an opportunity to recognise ASEAN for 50 years of promoting peace and stability in the region.
"They have done a very good job of it. Nations coming of age, many years finding, finding, basically a foundation where they can discuss things," he said.
ASEAN, he said, provides an international forum, giving voice to those who want relations between states to be based on respect, not on predatory economics or on the size of militaries, in an apparent reference to China.
"ASEAN nations have demonstrated that they can listen to one another, they identify opportunities to increase defence cooperation for their own security, and seek shared solutions to shared concerns," he said, adding that the US remains unambiguously committed to supporting ASEAN.
The bilateral meeting between Mattis and Ms Sitharaman will take place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers' Meeting in the Philippines that begins today and ends on October 25.
"I will have meetings while I'm in the Philippines at the ASEAN meeting with regional counterparts - Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines of course, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia," Mattis told reporters travelling with him to Philippines.
Mattis said the ASEAN defence ministers' meeting will be an opportunity to recognise ASEAN for 50 years of promoting peace and stability in the region.
Advertisement
ASEAN, he said, provides an international forum, giving voice to those who want relations between states to be based on respect, not on predatory economics or on the size of militaries, in an apparent reference to China.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Neither US Nor China Can Ignore India Today: Sitharaman No Country, Whether US Or China, Can Ignore India: Nirmala Sitharaman Biggest Challenge Before Indian Economy Is Employability: Nirmala Sitharaman Walmart Employee's Big Claim After Indian-Origin Teen Found Dead In Oven Who Was Gursimran Kaur, Indian Teen Found Dead In Walmart Oven Businessman's Rs 1 Crore Rolex Gift To Contractor For Building His "Fortress" North Korea Says It Test-Fired Latest ICBM Hwasong-19 On Thursday Ex-Armyman Opens Fire At Man Over Parking Dispute In Pune; Arrested US Elections: 60 Million Cast Early Votes In Kamala Harris-Trump Tight Race Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.