The Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Laos will be followed by two days of meetings with global powers including China, the United States and Russia, which are contending for influence in the region.

Explosive ordnance technicians on Guam recently removed and detonated a U.S. bomb base fuse and two unexploded shells apparently left over from World War II.

North Korea said Wednesday it will permanently block its border with South Korea and boost its front-line defense posture to cope with “confrontational hysteria” by South Korean and U.S. forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to formally designate South Korea its principal enemy.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his 19th trip in office to Asia this week when he leads the U.S. delegation to a meeting of East Asian leaders in Laos.

It wasn’t clear what other countries Tsai would visit on the trip that begins Saturday. Taiwan’s only formal diplomatic ally in Europe is the Vatican City, but it has robust unofficial ties with all other major nations in the region.

A fighter pilot with experience in Asia and the Middle East took command of U.S. Forces Japan on Tuesday.

The U.S. Navy broke ground this week on a new building that will eventually house a state-of-the-art virtual training simulator at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, the service’s largest overseas base.