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US State Secretary Antony Blinken will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi next week in Laos as the country prepares to host senior officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), reported Voice of America (VOA).
The US State Secretary said that he speaks with Wang "on a fairly regular basis," stressing that it is important for clarifying each country's intentions and avoiding unintended conflicts. "We're able to communicate very clearly in areas where we disagree. So at least China knows where we're coming from, just as we know where they're coming from," on such topics as the South China Sea and Taiwan, Blinken said, while addressing the Aspen Security Forum, a prominent national security and foreign policy conference in the United States. The US and China are not members of the Southeast Asian bloc, however; senior diplomats from both countries are typically invited to attend related regional meetings and often hold face-to-face discussions on the sidelines, VOA reported. Earlier on Friday, the US government advised American citizens in Taiwan to plan accordingly for an upcoming annual air defense exercise in Taiwan called Wan An Number 47, scheduled for Monday to Thursday. During the 30-minute exercise for civilians, the emergency notification system will be tested, signalling the start and end of the event. Blinken's talks with Wang next week in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, will follow a four-day major policy meeting called "China's Third Plenum", held by China's ruling Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing. The meetings will aim at advancing the country's technological power and fortifying its national security. Moreover, ASEAN has announced its intention to expedite negotiations with China on a code of conduct to reduce the risk of conflicts in the hotly contested South China Sea. Notably. the Southeast Asian bloc hopes to conclude talks by 2026, reported VOA. "We're tracking all the time, not just the Taiwan Strait, (but also the) South China Sea," Blinken said at the Aspen forum. He further noted escalating tensions between China and the Philippines because of recent collisions near the waters around Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ren'ai Jiao in China. (ANI)
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