Kyodo News reported this morning that the State Department announced on Tuesday that Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell will visit Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand from July 11 to July 19. It will be Stilwell’s first travel to the region since his appointment to the post on June 20. Kyodo said that the trip comes as President Trump has pledged to “change” what he sees as an “unfair” security treaty with Japan. While in Asia, Stilwell is expected to focus on ways to strengthen cooperation with the four allies in advancing a vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and addressing regional issues such as denuclearization of North Korea and China’s militarization of the South China Sea. In a visit to Tokyo from Thursday to Sunday, Stilwell will meet with senior Japanese officials to “coordinate efforts on regional and global issues, and deepen the U.S.-Japan alliance in pursuit of our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region,” according to the State Department. Stilwell, an Air Force veteran who speaks Korean, Chinese and some Japanese, will meet with officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry and the National Security Council.