Blinken denounces Beijing's aggressive acts in S. China Sea

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a major policy speech here yesterday, denounced China's "aggressive actions" in the region which he said included "claiming open seas as their own".

Beijing hit back swiftly at the remarks, saying the US was "talking one thing and acting another".

Speaking at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java, during the first leg of a visit to South-east Asia, Mr Blinken said Washington would work with its allies and partners "to defend a rules-based order" to ensure the region remained open and accessible.

He said countries across the region wanted Chinese behaviour to change. "We do, too, and that's why we're determined to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea where Beijing's aggressive actions there threatened the movement of more than US$3 trillion (S$4.1 trillion) worth of commerce every year," he said.

"It's worth remembering that, tied up in that colossal number, US$3 trillion, are the actual livelihoods and well-being of millions of people across the world. When commerce can't traverse open seas, that means that farmers are blocked from shipping their produce, factories can't ship their microchips, hospitals are blocked from getting life-saving medicines," he added.

China claims most of the South China Sea, bringing it into dispute with four Asean states - the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam - as well as Taiwan. Indonesia has also reported clashes with China over fishing rights in the North Natuna Sea, near the South China Sea, and most recently over oil and gas drilling activities in the area.

In an apparent reference to reports that the US was seeking allies in the region against Beijing, Mr Blinken said that it was "not about a contest between a US-centric region or a China-centric region" as the Indo-Pacific is its own region.

Saying Washington wanted to avoid conflict, he said the goal was to uphold the rights and agreements which had contributed to peace and prosperity in the region.

"When we say that we want a free and open Indo-Pacific, we mean that on an individual level that people will be free in their daily lives and live in open societies," he said.

"We mean that on a state level that individual countries will be able to choose their own path and their own partners. And we mean that on a regional level that in this part of the world, problems will be dealt with openly, rules will be reached transparently and applied fairly, goods and ideas and people will flow freely across land, cyberspace and the open seas."

Mr Blinken said the world's most dynamic region that is "free from coercion and accessible to all" will not only be good for the people living there, but also for Americans as when the vast region is "free and open", America is "more secure and prosperous".

He also spoke of democracy and Myanmar, promising that the US will continue to work with its allies and partners to press the military regime in Naypyitaw to "restore Burma's path to inclusive democracy", referring to the former name of Myanmar.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, reacting to Mr Blinken's remarks, told a regular media briefing the US should respect the ways the region maintains peace, especially through Asean, "instead of drawing ideological lines, putting together small cliques and inciting bloc confrontation".

"We hope the US will truly follow through on the spirit of the summit between the two heads of state and pursue win-win results and peaceful coexistence rather than talking one thing and acting another," Mr Wang was quoted as saying by Bloomberg News. He was referring to a video conference that the leaders of the two countries held last month.

Mr Blinken is making his first trip to the region since President Joe Biden assumed office in January. He met President Joko Widodo and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi while in Jakarta. He will also be visiting Malaysia and Thailand on the four-day trip.