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| US SecDef: Leon Panetta |
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta arrived in Thailand on Thursday as part of an Asian tour designed to beef up security ties across the region as a counterweight to China's rise.
A possible reopening of US military contacts with neighbouring Myanmar for the first time since the 1980s are also expected to feature in Panetta's talks in Bangkok.
The Pentagon chief's trip has been overshadowed throughout by a snowballing sex scandal in Washington that forced the resignation last week of ex-general and CIA director David Petraeus over an extramarital affair.
The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, has been linked to a key figure in the case and is now under investigation for potentially inappropriate emails.
Panetta's visit to Bangkok marks the first face-to-face talks between US and Thai defence ministers since 2008, and comes days before President Barack Obama is due in the region for a tour of Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar
Read the full story at Space Daily