Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken will seek to strengthen U.S. ties in East Asia during a pair of summits with leaders from the Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asian regions this week. Blinken is visiting Vientiane in the Lao People's Democratic Republic Tuesday through Friday to participate in the East Asia Summit and the U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Advertisement "We sincerely appreciate the Lao PDR for its excellent work this year in hosting the many ASEAN