VIENTIANE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Laos on Thursday for the East Asia Summit, where he will push a firm line on Myanmar’s junta and Beijing’s assertive actions in the South China Sea.

In a shift of focus after exhaustive diplomacy on the Middle East crisis, the top US diplomat landed in Vientiane where he will represent the United States at the annual Southeast Asian-led meetings, which President Joe Biden is skipping for the second straight year.

The summit will bring Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the same room, but no talks between the two are expected, with the Biden administration believing Moscow is insincere in its calls for peace talks on Ukraine.

Myanmar is sending a representative to a top-level gathering of the ASEAN bloc for the first time in more than three years, as diplomats push to kickstart diplomacy with the military junta.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia, said ahead of the summit that the United States supported ASEAN’s efforts but would advocate sustained pressure on the military regime.

“Unfortunately, we have seen virtually zero progress” from the junta on priorities such as freeing political prisoners and reducing violence with ethnic fighters, he said.

Blinken, who met two weeks ago with his Chinese counterpart in New York, will also back efforts by Southeast Asia to raise concerns with Beijing about its increasingly assertive claims in the South China Sea.

New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines

While the Middle East is not expected to dominate discussions in Laos, Blinken will meet later Thursday with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who has been vocally critical of US support for Israel.

US officials privately say they understand the political pressure in the Muslim-majority country and that they seek a cooperative relationship with Anwar, who enjoyed strong advocacy from Washington when he was controversially imprisoned.

Blinken will also meet Thursday with new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand, the oldest US ally in Asia.