
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Southeast Asia this week to deepen ties with his country's strategic allies, an official said Monday, with the United States seeking 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.