US State Secretary Antony Blinken is flying next week to two capitals in Asia — Phnom Penh and Manila — to show US President Joe Biden’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region already largely influenced by rival China, and to “strengthen” bilateral ties with the Philippines that were earlier strained during the first four years of President Duterte’s administration.
In a statement, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken will first travel to Cambodia on August 3-5 to participate in the three foreign ministerial meetings with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) — US-Asean Ministerial Meeting, East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and the Asean Regional Forum.
Aside from Blinken, other foreign ministers of the regional partners of Asean like China, Russia, Japan, India, Pakistan, the European Union, South Korea, North Korea and Australia will also attend the post-Asean ministerial meetings in Phnom Penh.
In May, Biden initiated an expanded free trade zone in the Indo-Pacific region called Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), with seven Asean members Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in the fold. The IPEF was nowhere mentioned in the statement, and instead, Blinken will focus on giving importance to “Asean centrality.”
Other members of IPEF are Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, and lately, Fiji.
“At each (Asean) ministerial, the Secretary will emphasize the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and successful implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
“He will also address the Covid-19 pandemic, economic cooperation, the fight against climate change, the crisis in Burma, and Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Price said.
Immediately after the ministerial meetings in Cambodia, Blinken will travel straight to Manila to meet President Marcos and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.
This is the first time Blinken will visit the Philippines since he assumed office in January 2021.
During his meetings in Manila on August 6, Blinken will “discuss bilateral efforts to strengthen the US-Philippines alliance, including through increased cooperation on energy, trade, and investment, advancing our shared democratic values, and pandemic recovery.”
In a separate statement announcing Blinken’s visit, the Philippine DFA said the Blinken-Manalo meeting will tackle a wide range of issues “focusing on sustaining the positive trajectory of relations between the Philippines and the US.”
Relations between Manila and Washington started on “a very strong trajectory” in the latter period of the Duterte administration, after then President Duterte revived the Philippine-US Visiting Forces Agreement and the US leading the Covid-19 vaccine campaign for the Philippines.
After his brief stint in Manila, Secretary Blinken will travel to South Africa on August 7-9.
In Pretoria, Blinken will launch the U.S. Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, “which reinforces the U.S. view that African countries are geo-strategic players and critical partners on the most pressing issues of our day, from promoting an open and stable international system, to tackling the effects of climate change, food insecurity and global pandemics, to shaping our technological and economic futures. He will also visit Johannesburg, where he will join in the South African celebration of National Women’s Day.
Then on August 9-10, the Secretary will meet with senior government officials and members of civil society in Democratic Republic of the Congo “to discuss mutual interest in ensuring free, inclusive, and fair elections in 2023, promoting respect for human rights and protecting fundamental freedoms. “
He will also focus on combating corruption, supporting trade and investment, addressing the climate crisis, building agricultural resilience, and support regional African efforts to advance peace in eastern DRC and the broader Great Lakes region.
Lastly, Blinken will visit Rwanda on August 10-12, to discuss peacekeeping, especially on the role of the Rwandan government in reducing tensions and violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“He will also raise democracy and human rights concerns, including transnational repression, limiting space for dissent and political opposition, and the wrongful detention of US Lawful Permanent Resident Paul Rusesabagina,” Price said.