US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting S'pore as part of Asia trip

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, will visit Singapore as part of a wider trip to the Asian and Southeast Asian region.

While here, he will meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, according to a press statement from the U.S. Embassy in Singapore.

Blinken in Singapore

Blinken will meet Singapore leaders to "review the growth of our bilateral cooperation with this pivotal regional partner on shared security, economic, climate, and technology objectives."

He will be here from Jul. 30 to 31, according to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in its own press statement.

According to the Embassy, the Secretary will co-chair the second round of the U.S.-Singapore Critical and Emerging Technology Dialogue, "where the two sides will advance initiatives to strengthen ties between our innovation ecosystems and reduce barriers to collaboration while protecting national security".

The Embassy added:

"The growing bilateral discussion regarding critical and emerging technologies further underscores the importance of the U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership in facilitating a free, open, connected prosperous, secure and resilient Indo-Pacific region."

MFA said that the Dialogue will be co-chaired with Vivian, Minister for Digital Development & Information Josephine Teo, and U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who will call in virtually.

Blinken visiting Southeast Asia

Blinken's trip began on Jul. 24 and will end after Aug. 3.

It is touted as his 18th trip to the Indo-Pacific region as Secretary, visiting Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines and Mongolia.

Blinken's trip addresses many priority issues on the Biden Administration's agenda.

For instance, he paid his respects to the family of the late Nguyen Phu Trong, the veteran leader of the Communist Party in Vietnam.

He also reaffirmed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam, seen as an important partner for the U.S. in a region close to China.

In Japan, another close partner, Blinken was accompanied by his fellow cabinet member, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

They held a joint press conference with Japan's Defense Minister Kihara Minoru, and discussed matters including mitigating the impact of U.S. forces on local communities, such as Okinawa.

Top image from Antony Blinken Facebook page.