VIENTIANE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hit out at China's “escalating and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea on Saturday, hours before he was due to hold talks with Beijing's top diplomat at a regional meeting in Laos. Blinken is in the capital Vientiane for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting, part of an Asian tour aimed at strengthening regional ties in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing.
