FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2021, file photo State Secretary Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington.
Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are heading to Japan and South Korea for four days of talks starting Monday, March 15, as the administration seeks to shore up partnerships with the two key regional treaty allies.
“Japan, together with the U.S., will resolutely respond to China's unilateral attempt to change the status quo,” Motegi said.
Beijing has built militarized manmade islands in the South China Sea and is pressing its claim to virtually all of the sea's key fisheries and waterways.
AdBlinken and Austin also plan to have virtual meetings with business leaders, civil-society members and others while in Tokyo before heading Wednesday to South Korea, another key ally in the region.