Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–March 20, 2013. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
“Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter visited Jakarta on Tuesday and Wednesday and delivered public remarks at the Jakarta International Defense Dialogue (JIDD). He also met with ministers of defense from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee of Permanent Representatives.
“Deputy Secretary Carter began his visit on Tuesday night at the residence of David Carden, the U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN, where he met the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives. The committee consists of ambassadors from each of the 10 ASEAN member states posted to the ASEAN Secretariat. Deputy Secretary Carter and the ambassadors shared perspectives on regional security issues and discussed U.S. policy in the Asia-Pacific region.
“On Wednesday morning, Deputy Secretary Carter attended the JIDD, where the opening ceremony featured remarks by Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmao and a keynote by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Deputy Secretary Carter spoke during the event’s first session, an international panel, reaffirming the strategic importance of the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and outlining how the U.S. is implementing the rebalance from a defense perspective. Other session participants included Lt. Gen. Qi Jianguo, China’s deputy chief of general staff; Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s minister of defense; and D. Alejandro Enrique Alvarogonzalez San Martin, Spain’s secretary general for defense policy.
“On the JIDD sidelines, Deputy Secretary Carter held bilateral meetings with Indonesian Defense Minister Yusgiantoro, Malaysian Defense Minister Zahid, and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng. In each meeting, he discussed ways to deepen bilateral defense partnerships.”
Source: defense.gov
