JAKARTA -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his country's commitment "to upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea" on Friday, the day after he held "candid and constructive discussions" with Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi in Jakarta.
The two diplomats met on the sidelines of a series of meetings involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and partner countries. For Blinken and Wang, it was their second face-to-face encounter in the span of about a month, after the American secretary traveled to Beijing in June -- the first such visit in five years.
