US ‘laser-focused’ on Asia with Blinken trip to Japan, South Korea and India, amid Israel-Gaza war, China tensions: diplomat
- Daniel Kritenbrink said that Blinken’s planned talks in Tokyo, Seoul and New Delhi show Washington’s ‘enduring commitment to and focus on the Indo-Pacific’
- The top US diplomat for East Asia said US allies in the region want to see the US ‘acting to support and buttress the rules-based international order’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip next week to Japan, South Korea and India even amid the Israel-Gaza war and other global challenges shows that the United States remains “laser-focused” on the Indo-Pacific region, a senior diplomat said on Thursday.
When he meets separately with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Blinken will discuss unfolding events in the Middle East and issues such as support for Ukraine, according to Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia.
Blinken will visit Tokyo to attend a two-day meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers beginning on Tuesday, after travelling to Israel and Jordan.
Before leaving for the Middle East, Blinken told reporters his major objectives there will be to receive a military update from Israel and to discuss ways to protect civilians and continue to deliver humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
Kritenbrink, who previewed the Asia leg of Blinken’s nine-day tour before the secretary’s departure on Thursday, said his planned talks in Tokyo, Seoul and New Delhi show Washington’s “enduring commitment to and focus on the Indo-Pacific.”
Kritenbrink added that Japan has been an “outstanding chair” this year of the G7, helping the group of major democratic economies make “great strides in increasing [its] cooperation and coordination” on significant issues related to the region and elsewhere.
