Blinken heads to Asia after Biden-Netanyahu meeting on Thursday

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will leave for Asia on Thursday to reaffirm ties with strategic alliesafter attending a highly anticipated meeting at the White House between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“The secretary will be leaving for Asia tomorrow, rather than tonight as we had originally planned, so that he can attend the meeting between the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow here in Washington,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday.

Washington said it is committed to allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, despite the crisis in the Middle East.

“This is the secretary’s 18th trip to the region,” Miller added. “He will also travel to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and Mongolia.”

Blinken will hold talks with senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, Laos, before traveling to Hanoi, Vietnam. Although a change in schedule will prevent him from attending the funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, he will visit Vietnam to pay his respects and meet with senior officials.

In Tokyo and Manila, Blinken will join US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for 2+2 security talks with their counterparts.

Blinken will also travel to Singapore and Mongolia for talks with senior officials there.

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