WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Tonga, New Zealand and Australia next week to discuss regional security and cooperation and attend the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the State Department said on Thursday.
Blinken plans to dedicate a new U.S. Embassy in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, a Pacific island the United States considers strategically important amid tensions with China.
Top U.S. officials have visited the South Pacific as geostrategic competition in the region intensifies. President Joe Biden, his administration pledging to help stave off China’s “economic coercion,” promised Pacific island leaders in September to work harder with allies and partners to address their needs.
Blinken will travel to Wellington, New Zealand on July 27 to meet with senior government partners and attend the Women’s World Cup when the U.S. women’s team plays, the department said. His trip concludes on July 28-29 with a stop in Brisbane, Australia, where he will attend the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations, it said.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Paul Grant; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Will Dunham)
