The top US diplomat visited Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia in his first visit since Joe Biden's exit from the presidential race
With large parts of the world in turmoil and deep uncertainty over the future direction of America's global role, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought this week to project an aura of calm normalcy as he traveled through Asia on his first overseas mission since President Joe Biden jolted the 2024 presidential race with his withdrawal.
Whether he succeeded or not remains an open question.
On a trip to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia that was punctuated by several potential escalatory developments in the Middle East, an uptick in Russian attacks in Ukraine and overshadowed by persistent fears about China's increasingly aggressive actions, he could not escape questions and comments about domestic U.S. politics.
Having embarked on the six-nation tour just days after Biden's decision, Blinken no doubt would have preferred to avoid the issue entirely but came prepared with several stock answers to questions about U.S. leadership from concerned partners and allies. Chief among them: “I don't do politics” and variations on “American engagement abroad endures across administrations.”
In the Philippines, Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin remained politely silent when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed them with a nod toward the campaign that now pits former President Donald Trump against presumptive Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We are very happy to see (you) once again,” Marcos said on Tuesday in Manila. “I am a bit surprised considering how interesting your political situation has become back in the States, but I'm glad that you've found the time to come and visit with us.”
In Singapore, Blinken was asked by a senior diplomat about the “noise coming out of the presidential campaign” and replied with a joke.
“Really? I hadn't heard any of it,” he said to laughter from the audience of students and academics from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy before taking a stab at a serious answer.
“We have these periodic things called elections and I think it's normal that before every election — given the importance of this moment in history that our country has around the world — that of course people ask questions,” Blinken said.
“They wonder what's going to happen in any given election, what direction does the country take, and maybe there are lesser or higher degrees of that on any given election, but it always happens before every election, and I understand that,” he said.
But, he argued that no matter who occupies the White House “there are a number of constants that don't fundamentally change irrespective of who wins a particular election.”
The main one, he said, is that most Americans want to be engaged with the rest of the world, taking a veiled jab at Trump's “America First” mantra that caused major angst among U.S. allies, particularly in Europe, Japan and South Korea, in his first term.
“If you listen to our fellow citizens, they actually want the United States to be engaged in the world,” Blinken said. “They strongly prefer that the United States not engage the world alone. They know the benefits in partnerships, in alliances, and again, that's a constant. And I think that remains no matter what.”
And, he said that conversely, much of the world wants the U.S. to play a major role in international affairs.
“Most countries actually want us engaged,” he said. “They want our leadership, they want our partnership, and that's a very positive signal that resonates back in the United States. So look, I really do understand the focus on this, but I'm also very confident that at the end of the day, most Americans see the benefits of our engagement around the world.”
Yet unease was palpable at several of Blinken's stops, even if the officials voicing it avoided direct mentions of the U.S. election.
“We are at an historic turning point,” Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told Blinken and Austin on Sunday in Tokyo. “Developments that shake the very foundation of free and open international order based on rule of law are continuing. Thus, decisions taken by us today will determine our future.”
“As for the U.S. situation, we are watching with keen interest,” she said. “But in any case, in order to completely and thoroughly defend the international order, Japan and the U.S. … should continue to enhance our deterrence power.”
Blinken — who with Austin was in Tokyo to announce an upgrade in U.S.-Japan military ties, something that Trump had wanted to curtail while in office — tried to downplay such concerns.
“I think it's fair to say that we are confronted by in some ways unprecedented challenges, but we also have an alliance that is more than ready to tackle them,” he said.
He noted that the U.S. and Japan have a solid alliance that has remained solid and gotten stronger because of shared interest. Because of that interest, “I know (the alliance) will be sustained irrespective of the outcome of the elections in either of our countries,” Blinken said.
Austin agreed, saying in both Tokyo and Manila that there is strong bipartisanship support in the U.S. for both alliances. “Anytime you see that level of bipartisan support in our government, you can expect that things will continue to improve and strengthen no matter who's in charge,” he said.
Still, the questions persisted. Back in Singapore, Blinken demurred when asked who would win in November and how it would affect U.S. foreign policy. “One of the benefits of my job is that I don't do politics,” he said, reverting to his stock answer.
“Predicting an election in our country is something I wouldn't hazard to do,” he said. “Our elections have been very, very close, and I expect this next election is likely to be the same, just looking at it as an American citizen.”
Instead, he said he was focused on the last six months of the Biden administration and particularly what it could do to support Ukraine and try to forge a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“What I'm focused on and what President Biden is focused on, really are the next six months between now and when the next president takes office in making sure that we're doing everything we can on all of these fronts to try to advance peace, to try to advance security, to try to advance not only our own interests but the interests of so many of our friends and partners,” Blinken said.
“We're doing that, again, irrespective of an election in our country. We're doing that because that's our responsibility in this moment, and as long as we have that responsibility, we'll continue to do our best to get to the right place."