Reuters.
(Reuters) -
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will brief allies on the U.S. strategic
shift toward Asia and will seek to allay concerns that fiscal
uncertainty could undermine Washington's commitment to the effort as he
begins a week-long visit to the region this weekend.
With the Asia-Pacific region unsettled by renewed tensions over competing sovereignty claims in the South China
Sea, Panetta flies to Hawaii on Wednesday for briefings with the head
of the U.S. Pacific Command before traveling on to Singapore for the
annual Shangri-La Dialogue.
He
later spends two days apiece in Vietnam and India, countries that have
become increasingly important to the U.S. push for a rules-based
regional order that would protect freedom of navigation and trade while
resolving conflicts peacefully.
The
trip is Panetta's first to the Asia-Pacific area since the Pentagon
issued its new strategic guidance in January calling for a shift in
focus toward the region, creating "news and buzz" about the concept, a
U.S. defense official said.
