On Friday, the largest regional command in the United States will get a new leader in Hawaiʻi.
Adm. Samuel Paparo will take charge of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command from Adm. John Aquilino.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is already in Hawaiʻi and will be meeting with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines this week.
On Thursday, Austin will meet with Australia's Defense Minister Richard Marles, who also serves as deputy prime minister.
Submarines will no doubt be part of the conversation.
The recent foreign aid package that sent billions of dollars to Ukraine and Israel also included money for the program, helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
Austin will also meet Japanʻs defense minister — following last monthʻs state visit to Washington, D.C., of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
The three defense leaders will then meet together, which is something the countries have done a dozen times before.
But that will be followed by a more unusual gathering including the defense secretary from the Philippines.
It will be only the second time the defense chiefs of the four countries have met together. The last time was about a year ago in Singapore.
The common theme among all these visits is regional cooperation with an eye on China.
Less than a month ago, all four countries took part in military exercises in the West Philippine Sea, in what they called a “commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
