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Blinken to Visit Asia to Emphasize Commitment Despite Ukraine Crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)
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Blinken to Visit Asia to Emphasize Commitment Despite Ukraine Crisis

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, DC, US February 4, 2022. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken goes to Asia next week for talks with Indo-Pacific allies, including a meeting of foreign ministers of the four-nation Quad, the State Department said on Friday.

Blinken is making the trip despite the mounting crisis over Ukraine and policy analysts say the aim is to show the Indo-Pacific region support and that pushing back against China's expanding influence remains Washington's top priority.

Blinken will leave Washington on Monday and be in Australia from Feb.9-12 for the meeting of the Quad - the United States, Japan, India and Australia.

Blinken will then meet Pacific Island leaders in Fiji before heading to Hawaii to confer with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts to discuss the North Korea issue.

The State Department said the purpose of the trip was "to engage Indo-Pacific allies and partners to advance peace, resilience, and prosperity across the region and demonstrate that these partnerships deliver."

The trip was announced even as China and Russia proclaimed a deep strategic partnership on Friday to balance what they portrayed as the malign global influence of the United States.

The State Department said that in Fiji on Feb. 12 Blinken would discuss the climate crisis, COVID-19, disaster assistance, and "ways to further our shared commitment to democracy, regional solidarity, and prosperity" with Pacific Island leaders.

He will be the first US secretary of state to visit Fiji since 1985.

A senior US official has said President Joe Biden's administration plans to start a new Pacific Islands initiative with allies and partners that would bring together regional countries to "raise our ambition in the region, including on climate, maritime, and transportation issues."

The official said it would at the same time finalize negotiations on Compacts of Free Association: agreements with three Pacific Island countries - the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau - that facilitate US military access. They are due to expire in 2023 in the case of the former two states and in 2024 in the case of Palau.

US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell has said that the Pacific could be the part of the world most likely to see "strategic surprise" - comments apparently referring to possible Chinese ambitions to establish Pacific-island bases.

Washington had not done enough to assist the region and that there was a very short amount of time, Campbell said, to work with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and fellow Pacific power France, "to step up our game across the board."

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6,000 Inmates Escape from High-security Prison in Mozambique

Some of the prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from the guards and started freeing other detainees. (file photo/The AP)
Some of the prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from the guards and started freeing other detainees. (file photo/The AP)
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6,000 Inmates Escape from High-security Prison in Mozambique

Some of the prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from the guards and started freeing other detainees. (file photo/The AP)
Some of the prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from the guards and started freeing other detainees. (file photo/The AP)

At least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in Mozambique’s capital on Christmas Day after a rebellion, the country's police chief said, as widespread post-election riots and violence are roiling the country.

Police chief Bernardino Rafael said 33 prisoners died and 15 others were injured during a confrontation with the security forces.

The prisoners fled during violent protests that have seen police cars, stations and infrastructure destroyed after the country’s Constitutional Council confirmed the ruling Frelimo party as the winner of the Oct. 9 elections.

The escape from the Maputo Central Prison, located 14 kilometers (9 miles) southwest of the capital, started around midday on Wednesday after “agitation” by a “group of subversive protesters” nearby, Rafael said, The AP reported.

Some of the prisoners at the facility snatched weapons from the guards and started freeing other detainees.

“A curious fact is that in that prison we had 29 convicted terrorists, who they released. We are worried, as a country, as Mozambicans, as members of the defense and security forces,” said Rafael.

“They (protesters) were making noise, demanding that they be able to remove the prisoners who are there serving their sentences”, said Rafael, adding that the protests led to the collapse of a wall, allowing the prisoners to flee.

He called on the escaped prisoners to surrender to authorities and for the population to be informed about the fugitives.

Videos circulating on social media show the moment inmates left the prison, while other recordings reveal captures made by military personnel and prison guards. Many prisoners tried to hide in homes, but some were unsuccessful and ended up being detained again.

In one video, a prisoner still with handcuffs on his right wrist says he was held n the disciplinary section of the prison and was released by other inmates.

Violence has engulfed Mozambique since the country’s highest court confirmed ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo as the winner of disputed Oct. 9 elections on Monday.

Mozambique's Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told a news conference in Maputo late Tuesday that the violence was led by mostly youthful supporters of losing candidate Venancio Mondlane, who received 24% of the vote, second to Chapo, who got 65%.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is concerned at the violence and urges all political leaders and relevant parties “to defuse tensions including through meaningful dialogue (and) legal redress,” UN associate spokesperson Stephanie Tremblay said Thursday.

The UN chief also calls for a halt to the violence and redoubled efforts “to seek a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis,” she said.

Associated Press