WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden is committed to elevating U.S. engagement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to “unprecedented” levels, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia said on Wednesday, ahead of a visit to Southeast Asia by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told a news briefing the security aspect of Blinken’s trip would focus on strengthening regional security infrastructure in response to Chinese “bullying” in the South China Sea.
Blinken will travel to Britain for a Group of Seven ministers meeting before visiting Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand from Dec. 9-17.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Chris Reese)
