( CNN ) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta departed Thursday for a trip to Asia aimed at updating friends and allies about Washington 's new Pacific-oriented defense strategy . It is the secretary 's second trip to the region since taking office . He is expected to return late next week . Before boarding the 12-hour flight across the Pacific , Panetta spoke to about 250 civilian and military personnel at Hawaii 's Camp H.M. Smith , home of the U.S. Pacific Command . Panetta told those gathered that Hawaii is a `` key point '' in the U.S. military strategy in the Asia-Pacific region . The secretary also met with the head of the U.S. Pacific Command , Adm. Sam Locklear , who plans to join Panetta for much of the trip . The first stop is Singapore , where Panetta is expected to deliver a major policy speech focusing on the role of the United States and its defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific region , according to a senior defense official who briefed reporters about the trip . `` Basically the core of what we are trying to do with the swing through Asia is to give a comprehensive account to partners and everyone in the region about what the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific will mean in practice , '' the official said Wednesday . The scheduled speech is at the International Institute for Strategic Studies ' annual Shangri-La Dialogue , which covers regional defense and security issues as well as global threats like terrorism and piracy . Panetta also is scheduled to meet with military leaders from Singapore , Japan , South Korea , Australia and perhaps China . `` It 's a good opportunity for the secretary to meet his counterparts , we 'll have to see who the Chinese send , '' said a second senior defense official who also briefed the media . `` If the opportunity is there and the schedules can support , we welcome that opportunity , as we have in the past . '' Much of the secretary 's schedule at the Shangri-La Dialogue is still unclear because there will be so many officials from various Asian nations , and nailing down specific meetings is still being worked out . After Singapore , Panetta flies to Vietnam to meet with senior leaders there . `` We 're going to be able to thank the Vietnamese for their continual great assistance on remains recovery and other importation issues , '' the first official said , referring to Vietnam 's cooperation in finding the remains of American servicemen missing since the war there nearly 50 years ago . The United States and Vietnam have been working for 17 years on normalization of their relations , and the official says those relations are `` really healthy . '' From Vietnam , the secretary plans to go to India for his last stop . He plans to spend two days there meeting with top officials in New Dehli and `` he 'll be giving one major speech in India as well , '' the official said . `` India is the only country we mention in the defense strategic guidance as a partner . And we are really shifting to a point at which our defense interactions with India are becoming routine . '' CNN Pentagon Producer Larry Shaughnessy contributed to this report .
Panetta plans to brief friends and allies on new defense strategy . His first stop is Singapore , where he plans to deliver a major policy speech . He also plans to meet with military leaders from the region .