U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet Thursday with China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations talks in Indonesia.
Blinken and Wang met last month in Beijing as part of efforts by the Biden administration to ease relations between the two powers.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen followed with a visit to Beijing last week, and next week, from July 16-19, John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy on climate issues, will travel to China.
Blinken and Wang are taking part in the ASEAN talks in Jakarta, as is Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The meetings Thursday and Friday are expected to include a focus on working to end the crisis in Myanmar and on tensions in the South China Sea.
Myanmar’s military rulers have not implemented a five-point peace plan they agreed to shortly after ousting Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in early 2021.
The ASEAN-crafted plan includes a call for an immediate halt to violence, delivery of humanitarian aid, and peace talks.
The violence in Myanmar has displaced more than 1 million people, according to the United Nations.
Lucas Myers, senior associate for Southeast Asia at the Wilson Center, told VOA that ASEAN members are divided over whether and how to deal with Myanmar’s military rulers.
“So, the maritime states, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, are much more pro-democracy in the Myanmar crisis, whereas mainland states, which are oftentimes more autocratic in this case, are much more in favor of the junta [ruling Myanmar],” Myers said.
VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine contributed to this report. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
