Washington, April 7 (RHC)-- U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter is making his first official trip to Japan and South Korea this week to revive the so-called Asia “pivot” strategy amid China’s rapid military modernization.

Carter left Washington on Monday to Japan, and later to South Korea for talks aimed at "strengthening and modernizing America's alliances in Northeast Asia," according to a Pentagon statement. He will also meet U.S. troops and their families who are stationed in those countries. There are about 49,000 US military personnel in Japan and about 28,500 in South Korea.

The Pentagon chief will also visit India and Singapore in May, and he may travel to China later in the year. Carter was a supporter of what the Obama administration calls its “rebalance” to Asia while he was serving as the deputy secretary of defense.

The Obama administration is trying to keep its focus on a widely advertised shift to Asia, which it has pursued since 2011. The White House argues that no region is more important to the United States’ long-term interests than Asia.