The foreign ministers of China and Russia met with their Southeast Asian counterparts a day before Washington’s top diplomat arrives, Asian media reported.
Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov attended a three-day meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in the Laos capital of Vientiane. Wang also met with the new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
On Thursday, Wang and Lavrov agreed to work together to “counter any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Vientiane on Saturday morning for talks with ASEAN foreign ministers. Blinken also cut his Asian itinerary short by a day to attend a meeting at the White House on Thursday between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wang met with ASEAN foreign ministers on Friday and hailed Beijing’s deepening economic ties with the region. The ASEAN ministers are expected to issue a joint communique after the three-day meeting.
