Defense Secretary James Mattis plans to discuss security challenges and mutual interests with some of his counterparts in Asia-Pacific during his visit to the region this week.
He will participate in the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers Meeting in the Philippines that will run through Wednesday, the Defense Department said Sunday.
Mattis will then lead a U.S. presidential delegation that includes Glyn Davies, U.S. ambassador to Thailand, to attend the royal cremation rites of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thursday in Bangkok.
His APAC trip will conclude with an attendance to the 49th Security Consultative Meeting in South Korea, which Mattis will co-chair with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo.
