WASHINGTON (AP) — Ignoring the political chaos surrounding President Joe Bidendecision to end his re-election campaign, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will head to Asia this week on a long-planned eight-day trip aimed at strengthening ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners, but with a priority of assuring them that the United States remains committed to the region.
The State Department announced Monday that Blinken, a close aide to Biden since the president’s Senate days, will travel to Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia for a series of international and bilateral meetings. These will include discussions in Laos with its Chinese counterpart and strategic and security talks in Tokyo and Manila, also involving Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The trip was scheduled well before Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he was withdrawing from the presidential race. State Department officials said there had been no discussion about canceling or postponing the trip.
In fact, they said Blinken’s presence was even more important to show that the changing political landscape in the US would not affect the trajectory of American foreign policy, at least while Biden is president.
Numerous countries in Asia and elsewhere have expressed concerns about the implications of the ancient President Donald Trump returning to the White House in January. Trump has cast doubt on the usefulness of U.S. alliances around the world and suggested during his first term that the American military presence in Japan and South Korea should be reduced or eliminated.
His first stop is Vietnam to attend the funeral of Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and the country’s most powerful politician.
In Laos, Blinken will participate in the annual meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, as well as a larger group that brings together senior diplomats not only from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but also from China, Russia, India and, often , from North Korea.
Blinken said on Friday that he would meet in Laos with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two have had a contentious but respectful relationship as ties between Washington and Beijing fray over issues of security, trade and human rights, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the South China Sea.
Later, Blinken and Austin will hold talks with their Japanese and Filipino counterparts. In Tokyo, US officials will also meet with the foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and Australia to discuss nuclear non-proliferation.
In Singapore, Blinken will meet with the city-state’s relatively new leadership to discuss the details of the long-standing strategic partnership between the US and Singapore. In Mongolia, he plans similar discussions when he ends his trip to Asia on August 1.
