China and Russia’s foreign ministers met their Southeast Asian counterparts Friday after vowing to counter “extra-regional forces”, a day before Washington’s top diplomat was due to arrive.
Wang Yi and Sergei Lavrov were attending a three-day meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in the Laos capital Vientiane.
Both held talks with counterparts from the bloc, while Wang also met with new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
On Thursday Wang and Lavrov agreed to work together in “countering any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs”, according to Moscow’s foreign ministry.
They also discussed implementing “a new security architecture” in Eurasia, Lavrov said in a statement, without elaborating.
According to a readout from Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Wang said Beijing was “ready to work with Russia to… firmly support each other, safeguard each other’s core interests”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Vientiane on Saturday morning for talks with ASEAN foreign ministers.
