Blinken heads to South-East Asia to reaffirm ties with strategic allies

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ([pic) heads to South-East Asia this week to deepen ties with Washington's strategic allies, an official said on Monday (July 22), as the United States seeks to bolster its regional stance against an increasingly assertive China.

On a 10-day trip that will see him visit Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia, Blinken will carry a message of US commitment to its allies in the region, said Daniel Kritenbrink, a senior US State Department official.