KUALA LUMPUR: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (pic) is due to visit Indonesia and Malaysia next week as the Biden administration ramps up engagement in South-East Asia.

       I Gede Ngurah Swajaya, Indonesia’s director-general for American and European Affairs, told reporters yesterday that Blinken would visit Jakarta on Dec 13 and 14, the third and most senior US official to visit the region in two months.

       Two South-East Asian diplomatic sources, who requested anonymity, said Blinken was also expected to visit Malaysia on Dec 14 and 15 in his maiden trip to the region.

       It was not immediately clear whether Blinken would be visiting other countries in the region.

       A US embassy spokesman in Jakarta declined to comment. — Reuters