Anthony Blinken's Southeast Asia tour cut short as his party member tests COVID positive

Ned Price representative for the US State Department, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cut short his trip to Southeast Asia on December 15, when a member of his party tested positive for the COVID-19. According to a report by AP, After visiting Indonesia and Malaysia, the top US ambassador was scheduled to meet Thai officials in Bangkok on Thursday, but the third and last part of the three-country journey has been cancelled.

Instead of spending the night in Bangkok on Wednesday, Blinken travelled to the Thai capital for a brief logistical stop before flying to Guam to refuel before continuing on to Hawaii. At least two ground staff personnel in Thailand were seen wearing full protective gear as they serviced Blinken's plane at Bangkok's airport. Fears that other members of the delegation would also test positive, necessitating them to quarantine in Thailand over the Christmas break, prompted the rapid change in plans.

A journalist who tested positive will be quarantined in Kuala Lumpur for ten days. According to US State Department spokesman Ned Price, Blinken discussed the change of plans with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. According to the US embassy in Malaysia, the person did not participate in any of Blinken's activities in Kuala Lumpur, and no other member of his party had contracted the virus.

All members of traveling press tested negative for COVID-19: US embassy

The decision to terminate the visit was made to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spreading and to prioritise the health and safety of the US travelling party and individuals they would otherwise come into contact with. However, all members of the party had tested negative in Indonesia, according to the US embassy in Jakarta's official Twitter account.

Blinken's tour was intended at countering an increasingly aggressive China and re-establishing US influence in Asia. He began his journey in Jakarta, where he met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, before heading to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday for a joint press conference with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. Blinken attended a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in the United Kingdom before arriving in Indonesia, which was dominated by tensions with Russia.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: AP