Philippines top diplomat tells Blinken Asia can ill afford escalation of Taiwan tensions

The Philippines foreign minister on Saturday told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the region can ill afford an escalation of regional tensions over the Taiwan Strait.

Blinken, in a virtual meeting with Philippines Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, said Washington was determined to avoid a crisis. He also stressed that relations between the two defence treaty allies have never been more important.