US ‘laser-focused’ on Asia with Blinken trip to Japan, South Korea and India, amid Israel-Gaza war, China tensions: diplomat

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.

While touching on a recent visit to Washington by China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, he said, “The fundamentals of the US-China relationship have not changed.”

Blinken raised US concerns over China’s aggressive actions in regional waters, human rights and other issues during his discussions with Wang, he said, but noted that the top diplomats also explored areas where the two countries can potentially cooperate.

Kritenbrink said the discussions, which were held ahead of a possible summit in mid-November between the US and Chinese presidents, represented Washington’s “clear-eyed and realistic approach.”

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US allies and partners in the region “want to see us acting to support and buttress the rules-based international order and counter any challenges that are posed to that order,” he said. “But they also want to see us, again, responsibly managing our competition with China. So we’re going to continue to stay the course.”

After Tokyo, Blinken will be in Seoul, where the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, as well as its deepening military ties with Russia, will top the agenda, according to the US diplomat.

Blinken will then travel to New Delhi, joined by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for an annual meeting with their Indian counterparts.

During the visit, the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as Russia’s war on Ukraine, will also be discussed, according to Donald Lu, assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, who attended the press briefing.