U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, shortly before meeting his Chinese counterpart on Saturday, urged Southeast Asian countries to help address challenges including Beijing’s “escalating and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea.
Blinken also called the civil war in Myanmar “heartbreaking” and stressed to foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) the need to work together to tackle issues like the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine and North Korea’s missile programmes.
Though Blinken singled out China over its actions against U.S. defence ally the Philippines in the South China Sea, he lauded both countries for their diplomacy hours after Manila completed a resupply mission to troops in an area also claimed by Beijing.
The troop presence has for years angered China, which has clashed repeatedly with the Philippines over Manila’s missions to troops on a navy ship grounded at the Second Thomas Shoal, causing regional concern about an escalation.
Blinken will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after Saturday’s security-focussed ASEAN Regional Forum in Laos, which will be attended by top diplomats of major powers including Russia, Australia, Japan, the European, Britain and others.
