Bangkok:U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Thailand as the Biden administration moves to show its commitment to Southeast Asia in the face of a relentless push for influence in the region from China.
Blinken was meeting with senior Thai officials and democracy activists from neighboring Myanmar on Sunday in Bangkok. He signed an agreement with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai expanding the U.S.-Thailand "Strategic Alliance and Partnership."
Blinken came to Thailand after attending an international conference in Bali, Indonesia, where he also raised concerns about China's increasing assertiveness in talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Like its predecessors, the Biden administration has watched China's rapid growth warily and sought to hold it to international standards without significant success.
Blinken said Saturday that China's support for Russia in its war in Ukraine poses a threat to the rules-based order and complicates already tense relations between Washington and Beijing. But China's aggressive push into its Southeast Asian neighbors and maintaining a robust regional U.S. presence are at the top of Blinken's agenda in Thailand, according to American officials. They also say Blinken will offer support and encouragement to Myanmar dissidents who have been forced to flee the country since the military seized power from the elected government on Feb. 1, 2021.