First though in Vientiane, Mr Kerry will seek to bolster Asean unity and the bloc’s resolve to stand up to China in the lead-up to a summit US President Barack Obama has called with the bloc’s leaders on Feb 15 and 16 in Sunnylands, California.
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Kerry will continue talks promoting bilateral ties in Cambodia, another ASEAN country and one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has embarked on a three-nation tour to Asia, including China, as Washington is trying to get Beijing to ratchet up pressure on Pyongyang following North Korea’s fourth nuclear test.
Both Laos and Cambodia are heavily under the influence of China which provides trade and diplomatic ballast to their authoritarian regimes.
Kerry arrived from Saudi Arabia where he reassured his hosts over the enduring strength of their relationship despite the United States warming of ties with Iran. Later this year, Obama travels to Laos, for an ASEAN summit, becoming the first USA president to do so.
Rights groups have urged Kerry to highlight the Laos government’s human rights abuses when he visits, including the disappearance of prominent community activist Sombath Somphone, who was last seen being stopped at a police checkpoint in 2012.
The U.S. official said he had heard from virtually every ASEAN country that the Cambodian chairmanship had left “a black mark” on the bloc that was not to be repeated.
The U.S. has been pressing China, an economic lifeline to North Korea, to use its leverage to urge Pyongyang to stop what world leaders view as provocative action.
In China, Kerry is expected to argue for Beijing to do more to push North Korea to halt nuclear tests and return to disarmament talks.
It is important to “cut off avenues of proliferation and retard North Korea’s ability to gain the wherewithal to advance its nuclear and its missile programs”, the State Department official said.
Beijing’s cooperation is essential in drawing a strong sanctions resolution from the U.N. Security Council because it is one of five veto-wielding permanent members, along with the U.S., Russia, France and Great Britain.
The newspaper said Kerry will discuss with Beijing new global sanctions against the North in response to the latest nuclear test conducted on January sixth.
Earlier this month, regional tensions flared when China tested a runway on one of its artificial islands in the region.
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He will also raise concerns with Beijing about its continued aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, the Philippines and several other countries have competing territorial claims, the official said.
