Blinken, Austin to make first overseas trip to Japan, South Korea

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel together to Japan and South Korea next week, the State Department said in a statement Wednesday, the first overseas trip for senior Cabinet officials. 

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the trip is meant to “reaffirm the United States’ commitment to strengthening our alliances and to highlight cooperation that promotes peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world.”

But it also comes at a time of tense relations between Washington and Beijing and as the Biden administration is reviewing its policy toward North Korea and the threat from its nuclear weapons program.

Tokyo and Seoul are key U.S. allies in the Pacific. Japan was one of the first major Asian countries to condemn the coup in Myanmar, in a joint statement at the time with the Group of Seven countries that includes the U.S. And the U.S. and South Korea announced on Wednesday an agreement that Seoul would increase its contributions to host U.S. forces in the country by nearly 14 percent. 

The trip to Japan and South Korea will take place March 15-18, although Austin will begin his trip in Hawaii on March 13 to visit the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Headquarters. He will also travel to India following the trip to South Korea and Japan. 

The trip will take place following an expected virtual meeting Friday morning between President Biden and the leaders of Japan, India and Australia, called the Quad, to discuss cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. 

Blinken and Austin will participate in a meeting, called the Security Consultative Committee, with Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi.

A similar bilateral meeting will take place with their counterparts in South Korea, with Blinken and Austin meeting with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Minister of Defense Suh Wook, in what will formally be called a U.S.-ROK Foreign and Defense Ministerial. 

In India, the Defense secretary will meet with Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and other senior national security leaders to discuss the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership, advancing cooperation and supporting a “free, prosperous and open Indo-Pacific and Western Indian Ocean Region.” 

The Biden administration has put a focus on refreshing alliances as part of efforts to push back against key threats. Blinken identified China as the biggest geopolitical challenge of the 21st century in a speech earlier this month at the State Department.