Blinken to tour Asia after latest Middle East crisis trip
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also travel to Jordan.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Japan, South Korea and India after his latest crisis visit to the Middle East, the State Department said on Wednesday, keeping a US focus on Asia.
On the three stops next week, Mr Blinken will “advance collaborative efforts to support a free and open Indo-Pacific region that is prosperous, secure, connected and resilient”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
The trip will come after Mr Blinken’s latest trip on Friday to Israel, massive Oct 7 assault inside Israel
Mr Blinken will also travel to Jordan, the second Arab state to make peace with Israel. Jordan on Wednesday withdrew its ambassador from its neighbour in protest against the war.
The Middle East crisis as well as the Ukraine war are also expected to figure in Mr Blinken’s trip to Japan, which is for a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialised democracies.
The State Department said Mr Blinken will meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Japan and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol later in South Korea.
South Korea previously announced Mr Blinken’s stop in Seoul, where he is set to discuss long-simmering tensions with North Korea.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to India to join Mr Blinken for the annual “two-plus-two” talks, which follow a state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States aimed at building a fast-growing partnership.
President Joe Biden’s administration has prioritised relations with India, seeing a like-minded partner faced with the rise of China, but Mr Blinken’s trip could be made awkward by a bitter feud between India and another close US partner – Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September publicly linked Indian intelligence
Mr Blinken has called on India to cooperate in the Canadian probe, and the State Department voiced concern over Indian moves that led Canada to pull its diplomats out of India. AFP
