The heads of US and Chinese diplomacy began a rare meeting in Laos today, amid tensions in the South China Sea and at a time when the United States is concerned about the rapprochement between Beijing and Moscow.
The US Secretary of State arrived in Vientiane this morning, where a regional meeting is taking place, on the first day of a new tour of Asia, during which he intends to reaffirm US leadership in the face of China's growing influence.
The President of the European Commission defined as a priority the promotion of "a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region", an expression used in the United States to designate an area of the Asia-Pacific free from influence, in a veiled way of criticising China and its economic, territorial and strategic ambitions in the region.
Shortly before his meeting with Wang Yi began, Blinken denounced Beijing's "escalatory and illegal actions" in the South China Sea during a meeting with the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The talks take place against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the South China Sea, where there have been a series of clashes in recent months between Philippine and Chinese vessels over disputed reefs.
Beijing and Manila reached a provisional agreement on the supply of a reef last week, but relations between the two countries remain frosty. "We are pleased to see that the resupply went ahead today successfully," Blinken said. "We welcome that and hope that it will continue in the future."
The meeting with China's top diplomat promises to be tense after the meeting, also in Vientiane, on Friday between the heads of Russian diplomacy - Sergei Lavrov - and China, who promised to counter the influence of "intraregional forces" in the region.
This is the US Secretary of State's 18th visit to Asia since taking office more than three years ago, reflecting the fierce competition between the United States and China in the region.
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