US secretaries of state, defence to visit South Korea, Japan

The first in-person trip is seen as part of a wider campaign to combat China’s influence in the region.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit Japan and South Korea next week as the administration seeks to boost regional alliances as a bulwark against China’s expanding might. The visit is the first physical official trip outside of the US for both Blinken and Austin, although the secretary of state had previously done “virtual tours” of Canada and Mexico. “I look forward to meeting our friends and allies in Japan and the Republic of Korea in my first in-person visit overseas as Secretary of State,” Blinken said in a tweet on Wednesday.