US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will visit four Asian countries in the coming days, the Pentagon announced Sunday, his second tour of the "priority" region where Washington is urging increased spending by allies to counter China.

The Pentagon said in a statement that Hegseth would make stops in Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and South Korea, without specifying exact dates or how long each visit would be.

President Donald Trump and other top US officials are currently in the region attending summits and bilateral talks, with the marquee event being a face-to-face meeting in South Korea between Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday.

A key theme of Hegseth's trip will be "America's focus on the Indo-Pacific, the Department's priority theater," the Pentagon said.

The United Sta

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