(Bloomberg) -- A US delegation led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise concerns with Asian leaders over growing South China Sea tensions and the civil war in Myanmar at a regional summit in Laos.
Blinken’s attendance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit this week is one of his last opportunities to convey Washington’s regional interest in person ahead of the November presidential election in the US. Other leaders joining the summit include Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
“China’s continuing to take a number of escalatory and irresponsible steps designed to coerce and pressure many in the South China Sea,” Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, said Tuesday in a preview of the trip. “That will be a key issue.”
The summit comes after a string of violent encounters between Chinese ships and coastal Southeast Asian nations in disputed seas. Last week, Hanoi accused Chinese law enforcement of a “brutal” attack on one of its fishing vessels that resulted in injuries to 10 crewmen, including three that suffered broken bones.
Until the incident, such tactics have mostly been reserved for ships belonging to the Philippines, a US ally that under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has become more vocal in pushing back against China’s vast maritime claims. Beijing maintains its actions are lawful.
Marcos is expected to deliver a keynote address at a parallel investment summit in Vientiane later on Wednesday.
The summit will introduce new leaders including Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Singapore’s Lawrence Wong, who took over from Lee Hsien Loong in May. A key focus for them and the region will be Myanmar, which has reportedly sent a representative for the first time since 2021.
The situation in Myanmar has deteriorated since the military led by Min Aung Hlaing overthrew the civilian government and detained its leaders in a coup back in 2021. Renewed civil conflict erupted across the country as a result, with various ethnic armed groups seizing swathes of territory, particularly in the north and west.
The losses for the junta have only worsened since October after an alliance of ethnic armed groups routed government forces from key areas along the border with China. Recent reports show the junta is on the verge of being expelled from the western-most state bordering Bangladesh, raising questions over how long the generals can hold on to power.
Kritenbrink said the US will lobby support to press the junta to reduce violence and release political prisoners, while also seeking to increase humanitarian assistance and promote dialogue with the opposition.
“We have seen virtually zero progress on any of those priorities,” he said. “The junta has to take the steps required to end this crisis. They haven’t done that yet. We won’t stop until they do.”
(Updates with Marcos delivering a keynote address in paragraph six. An earlier story was corrected to show Myanmar is sending a representative.)
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