Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Southeast Asia this week. He’s taking the long way home after attending the Group of Seven Foreign Ministers meeting in Liverpool — and before he returns to Washington he’ll also stop in Hawaiʻi.
The United States is in the midst of a diplomatic push in Southeast Asia — one that started even before Blinken set foot in the region this week.
Foreign Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were included in the G-7 meetings this past weekend in Liverpool, England.
Blinken started his regional travels in Indonesia, and is then moving on to Malaysia, and then Thailand.
The agenda is a classic diplomatic mix — a combination of relatively small bilateral agreements, speaking engagements, and much shaking of hands with regional leaders.
Indonesia is typical of the itinerary — bilateral announcements the local media described as having to do with education, the Peace Corps and a maritime partnership.
Tuesday he gave a policy speech in Jakarta on U.S. Indo Pacific strategy — which is likely to preview a more detailed policy approach to Southeast Asia that the Biden Administration is expected to announce next month.
You can expect to hear the word “framework” quite a bit — as well as the phrase “shared priorities.”
In the region, there’s an expectation for some economic specifics — especially as China continues its own overtures in Southeast Asia — and its pursuit of economic influence.
Blinken wraps up his Pacific trip in Hawaiʻi—meeting with Admiral John Aquilino, head of Indo Pacific Command.
