Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will participate in five virtual ministerial meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from August 2-6 EDT. These will be the U.S.-ASEAN, East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Mekong-U.S. Partnership, and Friends of the Mekong ministerial meetings.
During these meetings, the Secretary will engage with leaders from across the Indo-Pacific on pressing regional and international issues. The Secretary will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to ASEAN centrality and to working with ASEAN and international partners to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and support economic recovery.
The Secretary will also raise the importance of taking bold action to address the climate crisis. He will reiterate that the United States stands with the international community in defense of freedom of the seas and international law, including UNCLOS. He will also express grave concerns about the military coup in Burma and call on ASEAN to take joint action to urge the military to end the violence, release all those unjustly detained, and restore Burma’s path to democracy.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
