ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed Mongolia on Thursday at the end of a 10-day tour of Asia, hailing growing ties with the landlocked democracy sandwiched between authoritarian powers China and Russia. His long tour, which also took him to Southeast Asia and Japan, has sought to hammer home US support for allies and counter China’s influence in the region—even if Washington insists it is not pursuing a policy of containment against Beijing.

During a meeting in the Laos capital Vientiane last week, Blinken raised the issue with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during “frank and productive” exchanges, according to Washington. In Japan and the Philippines, Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced closer military and defense ties with the two countries in the face of what they described as Beijing’s “provocations”, particularly in the South China Sea.

In Ulaanbaatar on Thursday, Blinken stressed the US approach was not “against any one country”.

“It’s for a common vision that we share for what the future should look like,” he said during a press conference. “And yes, part of that common vision is clearly the freedom... for any country to make its own decisions, to make its own choices about the future,” he said. Mongolia is a vast, sparsely populated democracy of 3.4 million that held parliamentary elections in June.

The United States has said it intends to cultivate closer ties there, including “people-to-people” exchanges, and maintain a “comprehensive strategic dialogue” with Mongolia. Blinken on Thursday held talks with Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg, who was in Washington last week to meet the top diplomat and launch that strategic dialogue.

He also met President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, whose ruling party saw its majority reduced in June’s poll. “Mongolia is a central partner in this region,” Blinken said alongside his counterpart. “The United States and Mongolia are proud third neighbors, linked by shared democratic values, linked by common interests,” he added.

Washington hopes to increase its influence in Mongolia, which holds historical ties with Russia as well as a critical trading relationship with China. – AFP