Jakarta: US Secretary Antony Blinken on Monday began a tour of Southeast Asia in the capital of Indonesia Jakarta, where he would describe Washington’s policies about the Indo-Pacific, the US-Chinese battlefield.
Arriving from England after the G7 Foreign Minister’s meeting was dominated by tension with Russia, Blinken would highlight what his government was said to be the importance of Southeast Asia in US foreign policy.
Monday then, he will meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and on Tuesday will provide an address on the “US approach to the Indo-Pacific”.
US President Joe Biden’s strategy was not fundamentally different from the former President Donald Trump – stressed that the region had to remain free and open in front of the increase in Chinese aggression.
But the Biden team has emphasized more severely on building alliances to fight Beijing, after the turbulence and uncertainty of the Trump era.
After Indonesia, Blinken headed to Malaysia and Thailand.
In his meeting, he will “focus on strengthening regional security infrastructure in response to the intimidation of the RRC in the South China Sea,” Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told reporters ahead of travel, using abbreviations, using an abbreviation , use an abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China.
“We oppose any action by the People’s Republic of China or other actors designed to disrupt the area,” Kritenbrink said.
Tensions have been triggered by Beijing’s claims to almost all South China Sea, which overlaps with several Southeast Asian countries.
Blinken also plans to overcome the worsening crisis in Myanmar, which has been chaos since the military coup in February.
He said China raises “the biggest geopolitical test” in this century but strives to walk in the fine line between competition and confrontation.
Relations, however, it was found out in the past few years, especially over Taiwan who was democratic and governing itself, who claimed China as the territory and had vowed to reclaim one day, forcefully if necessary.