Blinken, Austin to Tour Indo-Pacific, Reiterate US Commitment to Region

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have announced plans to tour the Indo-Pacific region this week, to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to allies and partners in the region. Mr. Blinken will depart for Asia on July 24, with planned stops in Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, and Mongolia, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters at a press briefing on July 22. The Pentagon said Mr. Austin will depart on July 26 and join Mr. Blinken for the Japan and Philippines portions of the trip, before returning to the United States. Mr. Blinken will focus on growing the U.S.–Vietnamese strategic partnership during his visit to Hanoi, the State Department spokesman said. He will continue to build on U.S. relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos, attending ASEAN–U.S. partnership and Mekong–U.S. partnership meetings....