Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken embarked on what some experts called a "farewell trip" to Asia on Thursday to reassure its major allies in the region, as the current Biden administration enters "garbage time," some observers said, noting that even though the US side revealed that Blinken would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, nothing substantial is expected as Washington's sincerity is still in question. 

Matthew Miller, a US State Department spokesperson, was quoted as saying in media reports that Blinken will depart for Asia on Thursday after attending a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In Tokyo and Manila, Blinken will join US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for 2+2 security talks with their counterparts, the Voice of America (VOA) reported on Wednesday. 

The 10-day visit to six Asian countries signals that the Biden administration and his endorsed Democratic candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris are "all in" on Asia, Japanese media Nikkei said, citing Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs. 

Blinken's visit comes at a time when the US is experiencing significant internal political turmoil and chaos, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

"In fact, there are major contradictions and clashes between different US candidates on how to treat its allies, which brings great uncertainty to the future of US foreign policy," Li said, noting that this will cause many countries, including those in the Asia-Pacific region, to doubt the credibility of the US and even become wary of it.

Blinken also revealed earlier that he would meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Laos this week, as the Southeast Asian country is hosting a series of ASEAN foreign ministers' meetings from Thursday to Saturday. The senior US official also emphasized that communication on a regular basis "is important for clarifying each country's intentions and avoiding unintended conflicts," according to the VOA. 

"Blinken is a typical representative of the US' two-faced diplomacy," Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday. "This 'farewell trip' is unlikely to have much substantive content. In his meetings, including possible meeting with Wang, he will likely just reiterate his previous positions."

The senior US official is expected to bring up matters such as China's so-called support for Russia in the Ukraine crisis and the South China Sea issue, according to media reports. 

"The US lacks sincerity in its actions and statements regarding China policy," Li said. The way the US manipulates these questions is typical in its approach - blaming China for the emergence and worsening of these problems and portraying itself as a so-called peacekeeper, which is a very false narrative, the expert said. 

Although Washington has been signaling its intention to hold talks with Beijing, the potential meeting would be relatively brief and won't have much substance, some experts said. 

"Blinken's attention will likely be focused on trying to establish stronger relationships with Japan and the Philippines, the US' two most important treaty allies, with the aim of making these alliances more solid and turning them into more advantageous bases for countering China," Lü said. 

The US is looking to bolster the capabilities of the Philippines to "operate lawfully in its waters," Kritenbrink said ahead of 2+2 security talks between Washington and Manila, according to Reuters. 

"Is this an attempt to use the Biden administration's "garbage time" to incite the Philippines into testing China's bottom line again? This is something we need to be highly vigilant about," Lü said.

Washington's so-called consolidation of the US commitment to regional allies will only create more crises, confrontations, and uncertainties in the Asia-Pacific region, some experts said, noting that this commitment to its allies is essentially aimed at achieving Washington's own security strategy at the expense of the security interests of many countries, including its allies.

Additionally, the Biden administration is in disarray both domestically and in its foreign policy, as the unprecedented changes in US politics recently have not only sparked widespread skepticism in Europe but will also lead to growing confusion among its Asian allies, they noted. 

"Although Harris holds a high position as Vice President, she is actually outside the decision-making circle, as Biden's key foreign policy decisions are essentially made by [Jake] Sullivan and Blinken," Lü said.

"Europe has been thrown into chaos by the Biden administration, and I believe that no European leader now trusts Biden, and the same goes for Asia. Who trusts Biden now?" the expert asked.