‘All-in on the Indo-Pacific’ the key message on Blinken’s upcoming visit to Asia, says US official
United States’ top diplomat Antony Blinken kicks off an 11-day tour of Asia on Wednesday. He will visit Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia, and could meet with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi at ASEAN-related meetings.
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SINGAPORE: With a looming presidential election casting uncertainty over the United States’ foreign policy, its top diplomat’s six-country tour of Asia this week will signal its Indo-Pacific commitment and reassure allies and partners of fundamentals with “strong bipartisan support” that are not going to change, a senior State Department official said on Monday (Jul 22).
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a longtime close aide to US President Joe Biden dating from the president’s days in the Senate, will travel to Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia from Wednesday for a series of international and bilateral meetings.
In Laos, he will meet with regional foreign ministers at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related (ASEAN) meeting, where he is also set to meet Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines.
While in Tokyo and Manila, he will engage in strategic and security talks also involving US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The trip comes at a tumultuous time in Washington. Mr Biden announced on Sunday (Jul 21) that he will not run for re-election and endorsed his vice-president, Kamala Harris, to replace him. The Republican candidate, former president Donald Trump, earlier survived an assassination attempt.
REGIONAL DIPLOMATIC PUSH
Mr Blinken’s 11-day diplomatic push had been scheduled well before Mr Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. State Department officials said there was no discussion of cancelling or postponing the trip.
In fact, they said Mr Blinken’s attendance was all the more important to show that the changing political landscape in the US would not affect the trajectory of American foreign policy, at least while Mr Biden is president.
Mr Biden, who at 81 is the oldest person ever to have occupied the Oval Office, has said he would remain in the presidency until his term ends on Jan 20, 2025.
Asked what Mr Blinken will say to allies about Mr Biden's decision to step aside and whether it could bring changes in policy, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said the message would be that America is "all-in on the Indo-Pacific".
“We do try to reassure allies and partners that there are certain fundamentals, I think, about America’s engagement that are not going to change, that have been consistent,” he told reporters on Monday (Jul 22).
These include US$2 trillion in trade between the United States and the Indo-Pacific region annually, and nearly a trillion dollars of regional investment, he noted.
“There is strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for our allies and partners and our approach to the region.”
Mr Trump, who has been leading in the polls ahead of the Nov 5 election, launched a trade war against China while in the White House from 2017 to 2021. He has suggested he would impose tariffs of 60 per cent or higher on all Chinese goods, if he becomes president again.
Days ago, he said Taiwan should pay the US for defending it from China, which sees the self-governed island as part of its territory to be unified with the mainland. Allies of the former president have assured Japan and South Korea he would continue Mr Biden's engagement with them aimed at countering China and North Korea.
POSSIBLE MEETING WITH WANG YI
Mr Blinken’s first stop is expected to be Vietnam to attend the funeral of Nguyen Phu Trong, who was general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party and the country’s most powerful politician.
Trong led Vietnam for more than a decade overseeing rapid economic growth and, more recently, trod a fine line in elevating ties with both China and the US with his “bamboo diplomacy”. He died of old age and illness last Friday (Jul 19) at age 80.
In Laos, Mr Blinken will attend ASEAN-related meetings on Friday and Saturday, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are also expected.
A North Korean official would also likely be in attendance, Mr Kritenbrink said.
While there, officials are expected to discuss the conflict in Myanmar after the military seized power three years ago. The US expects Myanmar to be represented by a non-political official as it has been at previous meetings since the coup, Mr Kritenbrink said.
Asked if Mr Blinken would have a meeting with Mr Wang, Mr Kritenbrink would only say “we do anticipate that he’ll have an opportunity to engage with Wang Yi”.
In Tokyo, Mr Blinken and Mr Austin will meet their Japanese counterparts, Ms Yoko Kamikawa and Mr Minoru Kihara, on Jul 28. They will focus on the implementation of agreements reached at an April Washington summit between Mr Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
There, the allies announced plans to upgrade their military alliance, including the US military command in Japan and more joint development of defence equipment, amid shared concerns about China and Russia.
Tokyo wants a four-star US commander in Japan to match the rank of the head of a new Japanese headquarters that will oversee all of Japan's military operations from 2025.
Experts say that could lay the groundwork for a future unified Japanese-US command.
The US has said it would commit to match Japan's planned command upgrade, but experts say there have been questions as to where a four-star US commander for Japan would be based.
Mr Kritenbrink said "command and control" would be discussed, and added: "There'll be discussions about our roles and missions and capabilities; how the alliance is postured to meet those challenges."
"The United States and Japan are going to demonstrate in a responsible way how we will stand up and ensure not just the defence of Japan, but also our contribution to regional security."
In Manila, Mr Blinken and Mr Austin will meet with their Philippine counterparts, Mr Enrique Manalo and Mr Gilberto Teodoro, for a 2+2 dialogue, the fourth such meeting since the format began in 2012 and the first to be held in the Philippine capital.
The officials will reaffirm their “shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and support for adherence to international law in maritime domains”, said Mr Kritenbrink, adding that they would also discuss ways to deepen cooperation on shared challenges, including in the South China Sea.
Manila is locked in a longstanding territorial row with Beijing over parts of the strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars worth of trade passes annually.
A series of clashes between Philippine and Chinese vessels at flashpoint reefs have fuelled fears of a conflict that could drag in the US owing to its mutual defence treaty with Manila.
Mr Kritenbrink said Washington welcomed an announcement by Manila over the weekend that it had reached an understanding with China on the resupply of a Filipino naval ship beached on the contested Second Thomas Shoal.
In Singapore, Mr Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
They will review the growth of bilateral cooperation on shared security, economic, climate and technology objectives. Mr Blinken will co-chair the second round of the US-Singapore Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue, said Mr Kritenbrink.
Both sides will discuss how to reduce barriers to innovation and increase collaboration while protecting national security.
“The growing bilateral discussion regarding critical and emerging technologies further underscores the importance of the US-Singapore Strategic Partnership in facilitating a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
In Mongolia, Mr Blinken will meet with senior officials to reaffirm the importance of the US-Mongolia Strategic Partnership.
