SINGAPORE — With much of the world in turmoil and deep uncertainty about the future direction of the United States’ global role, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought this week to project an aura of calm normality as he traveled through Asia on his first foreign mission since President Joe Biden. he shook up the 2024 presidential race with his withdrawal.
Whether it was successful or not remains an open question.
On a trip to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia that was marked by several potential escalation events in the Middle East, an uptick in Russian attacks in Ukraine and overshadowed by lingering fears about the increasingly aggressive actions of China could not escape questions and comments about the internal politics of the United States.
Having embarked on the six-nation tour just days after Biden’s decision, Blinken would no doubt have preferred to avoid the topic entirely, but he came prepared with several standard answers to questions about American leadership from concerned partners and allies. Chief among them: “I don’t do politics” and variations on “American commitment abroad endures through all administrations.”
In the Philippines, Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were politely silent as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed them with a wink to the campaign that now pits former President Donald Trump against presumptive Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We are very happy to see (you) once again,” Marcos said Tuesday in Manila. “I’m a little surprised considering how interesting your political situation in the United States has become, but I’m glad you found the time to come visit us.”
In Singapore, a senior diplomat asked Blinken about the “noise coming out of the presidential campaign” and he responded with a joke.
“Really? I hadn’t heard anything like that,” he said to laughter from the audience of students and academics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy before attempting a serious response.
“We have these periodic things called elections and I think it’s normal that before every election, given the importance of this moment in history that our country has around the world, of course people ask questions,” Blinken said.
“They wonder what’s going to happen in a given election, what direction the country is going to take, and maybe there are greater or lesser degrees of that in a given election, but it always happens before every election, and I understand that,” he said. .
But he argued that no matter who occupies the White House “there are a number of constants that do not fundamentally change regardless of who wins a particular election.”
The main one, he said, is that most Americans want to engage with the rest of the world, making a veiled attack on Trump’s “America First” mantra that caused great anguish among America’s allies, particularly in Europe, Japan and Korea. from the south. in his first term.
“If you listen to our fellow Americans, they actually want America to engage in the world,” Blinken said. “They strongly prefer that the United States not engage alone with the world. They know the benefits of partnerships, alliances and, again, that is a constant. And I think that remains no matter what.”
And, he said, conversely, much of the world wants the United States to play an important role in international affairs.
“Most countries really want us to participate,” he said. “They want our leadership, they want our partnership, and that is a very positive signal that resonates in the United States. Look, I really understand the focus on this, but I’m also very confident that, at the end of the day, most Americans see the benefits of our engagement around the world.”
Still, the unease was palpable at several of Blinken’s stops, even if the officials who expressed it avoided directly mentioning the U.S. election.
“We are at a historic turning point,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told Blinken and Austin on Sunday in Tokyo. “Events continue to shake the very foundations of the free and open international order based on the rule of law. Therefore, the decisions we make today will determine our future.”
“As for the situation in the United States, we are watching it with great interest,” he said. “But in any case, to fully and completely defend the international order, Japan and the United States… should continue to improve our deterrence power.”
Blinken, who was with Austin in Tokyo to announce an upgrade to military ties between the United States and Japan, something Trump had wanted to reduce while in office, sought to downplay such concerns.
“I think it’s fair to say that in some ways we are facing unprecedented challenges, but we also have an alliance that is more than prepared to address them,” he said.
He noted that the United States and Japan have a strong alliance that has remained strong and grown stronger because of shared interest. Because of that interest, “I know that (the alliance) will continue regardless of the outcome of the elections in any of our countries,” Blinken said.
Austin agreed, saying in both Tokyo and Manila that there is strong bipartisan support in the United States for both alliances. “Any time you see that level of bipartisan support in our government, you can expect things to continue to get better and stronger no matter who is in charge,” he said.
Still, the questions persisted. Back in Singapore, Blinken demurred when asked who would win in November and how that would affect US foreign policy. “One of the benefits of my job is that I don’t do politics,” he said, returning to his usual response.
“Predicting an election in our country is something I would not dare to do,” he said. “Our elections have been very, very close, and I hope the next election will be the same, just looking at it as an American citizen.”
Instead, he said he was focused on the final six months of the Biden administration and particularly what he could do to support Ukraine and try to forge a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“What I’m focused on and what President Biden is focused on, really is the next six months between now and when the next president takes office to make sure that we’re doing everything we can on all of these fronts to try to move forward.” . peace, to try to promote security, to try to promote not only our own interests but also the interests of many of our friends and partners,” Blinken said.
“We are doing that, again, regardless of whether there are elections in our country. “We do it because it is our responsibility right now and as long as we have that responsibility, we will continue to do our best to get to the right place.”
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
