WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday that Washington would soon release a new comprehensive strategy for the wider Indo-Pacific region.
The Biden administration is hoping to pivot from the crisis in Afghanistan to focus on its main national security priority of countering a rising China.
Speaking at the start of a meeting with his counterparts in the 10-nation bloc on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, Blinken said the U.S. strategy would emerge “this fall” and “builds on our shared vision for a free, open, interconnected, resilient and secure region.”
“It will reflect Southeast Asia’s importance to the Indo-Pacific region and the critical role that ASEAN plays in determining the region’s future,” he added.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Howard Goller)
