VIENTIANE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Laos on Saturday, where he will attend a regional meeting and hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, part of a multi-nation Asia visit aimed at reinforcing regional ties in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing.
The top US diplomat is due to meet China’s Wang Yi on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting being held in Vientiane.
Blinken has prioritised promoting a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region – a thinly veiled criticism of China’s regional economic, strategic and territorial ambitions.
During a series of ASEAN meetings, “the Secretary’s conversations will continue to build upon the unprecedented deepening and expansion of US-ASEAN ties”, the State Department said in a statement shortly before Blinken touched down in Vientiane.
This is Blinken’s 18th visit to Asia since taking office more than three years ago, reflecting the fierce competition between Washington and Beijing in the region.
Russia, China FMs meet as ASEAN talks get underway in Laos
He notably arrives two days after the foreign ministers of China and Russia met with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc – and each other on the sidelines of the summit.
Wang and Sergei Lavrov had discussed “building a new security architecture for Eurasia”, according to Moscow’s foreign ministry.
The pair also agreed to jointly “counter any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs”, it said.
China has a strong political and economic partnership with Russia, with NATO members labelling Beijing as a “key facilitator” of Moscow’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Wang and Blinken would “exchange views on issues of common concern”, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday.
Blinken is expected to “discuss the importance of adherence to international law in the South China Sea” at the ASEAN talks, according to the US State Department.
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