DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: So just a couple things, and then happy to start.

So as you know, Secretary Austin is on travel in the Indo-Pacific. He just concluded a series of engagements at the Shangri-La Dialogue and will next head to Cambodia to meet with senior leaders there. This is the secretary's tenth trip to region and his third time attending the Shangri-La Dialogue.

At Shangri-La, the secretary was able to meet with many from throughout the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. Secretary Austin convened a trilateral meeting with Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara and Republic of Korea Minister of National Defense Shin, and met with Southeast Asia defense leaders from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and ASEAN ministers to discuss opportunities to advance regional peace and stability. In each meeting, he discussed what you've heard in his keynote speech, "New Convergence," built on a shared vision and common principles which has driven our incredible progress with allies and partners over the last three years and is built together to last in the years to come.

In addition, the secretary had his first in-person meeting with Admiral Dong, minister of national defense of the People's Republic of China, to discuss U.S.-PRC defense relations, as well as regional and global security issues. A full readout will is available on defense.gov.

And as you saw, the secretary met with President Zelenskyy on Sunday to provide an update on efforts to rush U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to meet their capability needs and reaffirm the U.S.'s commitment to maintaining the strong support of a coalition of over 50 countries to help Ukraine defend its freedom.

And then a short update on the status of the temporary pier: The rebuilding and repairing of the pier is ongoing at Ashdod. Additionally, the recovering of the remaining two Army vessels that were beached near the Trident Pier is ongoing, with assistance from the Israeli Navy. Alongside USAID and other humanitarian organizations, we are committed to working with the international community to ensure that humanitarian aid gets into Gaza as quickly as possible. And as we have the updates to provide on JLOTS, we'll be sure to pass that information along.

And with that, I'm happy to take your questions. Lita?

Q: Thanks, Sabrina. A couple things on the pier.

MS. SINGH: Sure.

Q: One, are the Army vessels badly damaged? What is it that's taking so long that's -- to -- to unbeach them?

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: And the -- I -- and I have something else.

MS. SINGH: Sure. I believe the Army vessels just did take on a lot of water and sand, so the recovery efforts are just proving to be a little bit more difficult. But we are working with the Israeli Navy to make sure that they can be pushed back and will be operational. That does not impact to the rebuilding of the pier itself though. That is still ongoing; still looking like we'll be on track for the timeline that we had set, but we'll provide more updates as we get them.

Q: So will those two Army boats, though, won't be available to help if -- once the pier gets reestablished. They won't be able to help shuttle aid, right?

MS. SINGH: They were not part... 

Q: They were not part of that?

MS. SINGH: They were never part of the shuttling of aid.

Q: OK.

MS. SINGH: They were just there to help anchor the pier. But as I get more updates...

Q: OK.

MS. SINGH: ... and as those vessels are still in the recovery process, we'll provide additional (inaudible).

Q: And can you say whether or not there's any aid flowing from Cyprus to the Navy ships that is sort of sitting there waiting for the pier to start again?

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: And (inaudible).

MS. SINGH: Absolutely. So as of last week, when we were providing updates, humanitarian aid from Cyprus is currently being preloaded on vessels that as soon as the JLOTS, or temporary pier is re-anchored to Gaza, that aid will be able to flow off pretty much immediately. USAID is working with other partners to distribute aid that's on Cyprus. I would direct you to them for any efforts on that front. But we are preloading aid. I don't have...

Q: OK.

MS. SINGH: I don't have how many metric tons are right now preloaded on our ships, but it is an ongoing effort.

Q: OK, but you don't have an update from what you -- over the weekend and from what you said last week?

MS. SINGH: No, no update on (inaudible).

Q: So nothing new from that? OK.

MS. SINGH: No. And of course, as you know, the temporary pier is not operational, so no aid has been able to flow off...

Q: Right.

MS. SINGH: ... through the maritime corridor. Yeah, great.

Laura?

Q: Thanks, Sabrina. Do you have an update on the person that was critically injured the other week? Is he still -- he still is -- is he still being cared for in Israel, or has he been transferred to the U.S. since?

MS. SINGH: I don't have an update for you. I would direct you to CENTCOM to provide that update, but when we do have something more to provide, we will. But he is -- my understanding is still in critical condition.

Q: Can you tell us anything about the accident and how he was injured?

(CROSSTALK)

MS. SINGH: I don't have anything more. I'd refer you to CENTCOM to speak more to that, on just the actual details. Unfortunately, I just don't have more at this time.

Q: OK. And then, sorry, just on Niger, has the withdrawal actually begun? Have troops started leaving?

MS. SINGH: My understanding is there's still, I think, over 900 personnel still there. It's a phased withdrawal that I know some of our senior officials here have spoken to. You know, we have a pretty long lead time until September to continue those withdrawal efforts. But it's underway. It's progressing, but I...

Q: So they have started to...?

MS. SINGH: The conversations have started and are ongoing, as you know. We put out a -- and I'm sorry. We put out a readout very long ago on how those conversations went when our delegation was there. I don't have any more to announce on, like, actual withdrawal efforts, but we'll keep you updated on that.

Yeah?

Q: Hi, Sabrina.

MS. SINGH: Hi, yeah.

Q: Good morning. So a couple of questions first on the JLOTS. So is -- are you still looking for maybe -- maybe anchoring the -- the pier on Thursday? Would that be the -- the (inaudible)?

MS. SINGH: So I don't have an exact date for you right now, Fadi. When we previewed -- when I was at the podium last week, I think we said it would take about over a week to do it, so we'd be looking at sometime this week, most likely, to anchor. Of course, you know, we're always assessing environmental and securities conditions on the ground, but hopeful that we are moving towards progress sometime this week.

Q: And on the aid being loaded on ships in Cyprus...

MS. SINGH: Yeah.

Q: ... how many ships are we talking about?

MS. SINGH: It's the ships that are part of the JLOTS mission, so the Benavidez is the largest one. In terms of what aid is loaded on what specific ships, I don't have that full breakdown. CENTCOM would, and I'd refer you to them to -- if you're interested in that, to speak more to that. But what I can tell you is that aid right now is -- and has been being pushed on, onloaded onto the Benavidez so that when we are ready and when JLOTS is back up and running, aid can move pretty immediately.

Q: OK. And I mean, the A.P. yesterday reported that the Ike mission and its strike group has been extended. This was a decision that the order that the secretary made, I believe, back in May. What can you tell us about this? And is that a reflection of the type of operations the Houthis are still able to carry? And I mean -- and how do you -- in terms of the success of the mission, is the extension acknowledgement that you haven't been able to deal with the Houthis' capability?

MS. SINGH: Well, the Ike remains on station. You know, we don't really comment on additional extensions or anything like that. But she remains there in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden area. You know, we continue to see the Houthis engage in activities that threaten commercial shipping, which is why it's very important to have our destroyers and the Ike there to be able to engage in what is being shot from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen towards commercial ships and our ships.

I think what's important to remember is that this is not just a U.S. effort, there are other countries and coalitions part of Operation Prosperity Guardian and operating separately there to ensure that freedom of navigation is upheld.

We never said that we've taken the Houthis' capabilities completely off the map, but just last week, you saw us engage in another coalition strike with UK and other partners to further degrade the Houthis' capabilities. We have seen them respond, we have seen them target our ships, and I think there was some misreporting this weekend but none of our ships were hit.

So look, the Secretary, the President feel it's very important for our ships to be in that region to continue to ensure that freedom of navigation can continue to flow for commercial ships and other ships transiting that region. And, you know, when we have any other force posture changes to announce, we will do so.

Q: Thank you.

MS. SINGH: Did I see Oren? Yeah.

Q: I'm just curious, you had these - you had these four Army vessels to help anchor the causeway or - or the pier. Are you going to try to anchor it with two if two are still down? Because that would seem to be inherently weaker for a system that has already shown that it can't handle rough seas.

MS. SINGH: So I believe it's usually two at a time, and then the two that were being towed to Ashkelon were leaving the pier area. Look, I would - I'm not the - I'm not an engineering expert. I'm also not someone that can - I can only speak about the, you know, high seas in a very broad level. I would direct you to CENTCOM for more on those vessels itself, but I believe they just kind of help keep it in place.

As the temporary pier is being repaired, the two Army vessels that are still on the beach are - is not hindering that process. We still believe that we'll be able to anchor the pier in when the time is ready, even if those vessels are still on the beach.

(Inaudible). Thank you. Yeah? Do you have something else?

Q: I do not.

MS. SINGH: OK, great. Phil?

Q: I guess if you could just explain a little bit about, you know - so the - the - on the Army vessels, what is it exactly that's kept them, you know - you said they took on more sand, more water, but it seems like, you know, getting Army vessels off a beach wouldn't be as difficult as it has been. Is it because something extraordinary happened or the Israelis weren't available to help?

And - and secondly, when the - when the pier became dislodged, was there any chance that a - U.S. - U.S. forces, you know, had they been able to go up - ashore, would have been able to stop that from - from happening if they had been allowed more freedom of movement?

MS. SINGH: Not to my knowledge, in terms of, like, had U.S. personnel been able to somehow change the way - or, like ... 

Q: This - maybe - just - just on - just, you know, take the - take the - take the pier out of the beach so it wouldn't - so it wouldn't be ... 

MS. SINGH: No, that was - I mean, it was a true confluence of two weather storms. It was the high seas and then that North African weather storm that was overland and then, you know, changed direction that created more untenable environment.

You know, going forward, should we see some - like, an additional weather storm, I think there would be an opportunity to potentially remove the temporary pier so that damage doesn't happen again, but no, I don't think that had U.S. boots been able to go on the ground, that would have stopped the actual portion that broke apart, because you have to remember the portion that broke apart was that top portion, the furthest portion away from the beach itself. So that top portion had - I don't know what someone on the beach would have been able to have done for that, like, top T section.

And then in terms of - you had asked about the Army vessels. I - you know, again, I don't - I don't have more specifics, other than I know that those vessels did have a lot of water and sand intake. I would direct you to CENTCOM for more details. I think just a combination of - you know, we're working with the Israeli Navy to get those back and operational, but I just don't have more. I'd refer you to CENTCOM for more details.

Liz?

Q: Thanks. And I apologize if someone asked this cause I was a little late. With the joint strike the U.S. did with the UK, do you have any details about, like, what munitions they used or just any details on the strike?

MS. SINGH: Yeah - no, appreciate the question. Not going to get into specifics on munitions. What I can tell you is that a storage facility was hit, along with, I believe, an aircraft and I'm sorry, I don't have the list in front of me, but a headquarters as well. But for more on, like, the actual platforms, we're just not getting into those details right now.

Q: Were there any casualties?

MS. SINGH: There's still an assessment ongoing that CENTCOM's doing, so I don't have anything to read out and I don't have BDA for you right now.

Q: And do you know what time the strike was - took place?

MS. SINGH: The strike took place around 1600 Eastern, so 4 pm Eastern.

Q: OK. And then just my last question ... 

MS. SINGH: On - on - sorry - on Thursday of last week.

Q: And then my last question on this - why strike now? Like, what changed? The U.S. and UK haven't done these joint strikes in a while.

MS. SINGH: Well, we've done many before that. Look, we saw an opportunity to further degrade the Houthis' capabilities. When the timing is right, we take those actions together. It wasn't that we haven't done this before, it wasn't unprecedented, and it was just presented. We had the opportunity to do it, we had the opportunity to do it with the UK, and we took it.

Luis?

Q: Good morning.

MS. SINGH: Good morning.

Q: Last week, we saw the White House change the parameters for the use of weapons inside Russia around Kharkiv. Can you tell us specifically what weapons systems are prohibited? I mean, some officials have told us ATACMS. Does that mean that everything else but ATACMS can be used - in other words, HIMARS?

MS. SINGH: Yeah, so we don't support long-range strike capabilities into Russia, but yes, like, ammunition, HIMARS, things like that. When it comes to that cross-border region, that is some of the focus of the policy change.

I mean, what we saw and what we - I think I want to say around early March, we saw Russian forces continue to maneuver around Kharkiv and create these buffer zones. So those are the type of capabilities that would be useful there. But still, our policy on long-range deep strikes within Russia, we do not support.

Q: So when you mention HIMARS, you - you meant, like, yes, they can be used?

MS. SINGH: I'm not going to get into more specifics but we just don't support long-range capabilities being used within Russia.

Anyone else?

Q: Sabrina?

MS. SINGH: Oh yes, and then I can (inaudible).

Q: Hey, Sabrina. I'm just seeing if there's any updates from the last week on airdrop aid into Gaza, or if we're still suspend - if that's still suspended?

MS. SINGH: I wouldn't say it was suspended. We do airdrops when it - the conditions on the ground and of course weather conditions allow for them. So they haven't been suspended. I imagine they will - they will pick back up when Central Command feels that it is safe to do those airdrops. I believe other nations have continued their airdrops as well. So it is something that we remain focused on. And, you know, I don't have anything to preview right now, but I imagine those will continue when our folks feel that it is safe to do so.

Q: But nothing from last week as yet?

MS. SINGH: Nothing from last week. Sorry. If that was your initial question, nothing from last week.

Q: OK.

Q: Just to follow up quickly on the strikes in Yemen, did you mention - you've mentioned one of the targets was an aircraft. Is that a manned aircraft, unmanned aircraft?

MS. SINGH: I don't have more details for you on that.

Q: OK. And then do you know where the strikes were launched from or what units or aircraft were involved?

MS. SINGH: So not going to get into more specifics on where they were launched from, just for our own operational security reasons, but yeah, I just don't have more for you on that.

Yeah? Anybody else? Yes?

Q: I'd like to follow up on some reporting on a suit filed by some - two families on the Ospreys, claiming that they are not fit in any mode. Is there any status - has there been any status change on Ospreys that are in service now?

MS. SINGH: Not aware of any status changes, and I obviously wouldn't comment on a - on ongoing, pending lawsuit.

Q: Right.

MS. SINGH: OK.

Q: Thank you.

MS. SINGH: Great. Anyone else? Last call. OK, thanks, everyone.