US Secretary Blinken vows to keep the Indo-Pacific region free and open amid ‘complex’ challenges

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday vowed to keep the Indo-Pacific region free and open, and hopes to deepen efforts with South-east Asian nations to tackle “complex challenges” affecting the region.

“We share a vision of an Indo-Pacific that is free, open, prosperous, secure, connected and resilient,” he told foreign ministers in Jakarta at the 56th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related meetings, which started on Tuesday and ended on Friday.

“That means a region where countries are free to choose their own paths and their own partners, where problems are dealt with openly, not through coercion, where rules are reached transparently and applied fairly,” he added.

On the turmoil in Myanmar, Mr Blinken said “we must press the military regime to stop the violence, to implement Asean’s five-point peace plan to support a return to democratic governance”.

“We must uphold the freedom of navigation in the South and East China seas and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he added.

Tensions have flared in recent years between China and Asean countries in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest waterways that is the site of overlapping claims by China, Taiwan, and four Asean states – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

China claims almost the entirety of the strategic waterway with a supposed nine-dash line.

Tensions have also simmered between Beijing and Washington over self-ruled Taiwan, where the Chinese government has ratcheted up military and political pressure. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland,

by force if necessary.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that the US is one of the most important partners for Asean, and will continue to support Asean centrality.

She also called on the US to support the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), as “keeping peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific would not only be a regional triumph, but a global one too”, she said.

The AOIP, an initiative led by Indonesia that was signed in 2019 by Asean leaders at the 34th Asean Summit, lays out the bloc’s common position on regional cooperation, security and prosperity, as well as its stance on not taking sides with any major powers competing for influence in the region.

Mr Blinken said his country’s relationship with Asean is at the heart of its engagement in the Indo-Pacific, and “it is why we worked so hard to put that enhanced partnership into concrete action”.

He outlined the cooperation between the US and Asean, including expanding access to the Internet and other technologies to small businesses and entrepreneurs, helping communities adapt to the growing effects of a warming climate, and improving the capacity of health systems such as maternal and child health.

Washington upgraded the US-Asean relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, he noted, and the high-level dialogues between both sides have helped to drive progress in health, transportation, women’s empowerment, the environment, climate and energy.

He added: “We’ve taken significant steps forward over the past year. I’m very much looking forward to working together to accelerate our progress.”

In a separate meeting with media late Friday, Mr Blinken noted that the US and the Asean entered a new era “defined by greater scope, greater collaboration, greater ambition”.

The US is Asean’s largest source of foreign direct investment, and over 6,200 American companies operate across the 10 Asean countries. This brings “inclusive and broad-based growth” that benefits the people.

Last year, trade between the US and Asean totalled more than US$500 billion (S$660 billion), creating more than 625,000 jobs in the US.

“To make that trade faster, cheaper, more dependable, we’ve invested significantly in the Asean single window,” Mr Blinken said.

He added that the cooperation also includes ways to address climate change, including to reduce carbon emissions.

On the US relations with Indonesia, which he described as a “vital US partner”, and a “regional and global reader”, Mr Blinken said the US partnership with Indonesia is “stronger than ever”, with nearly 75 years of diplomatic ties.

Through the US-Indonesia dialogue on Friday, he had a “very productive” dialogue from advancing economic cooperation through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to collaborating on regional issues, and advancing shared priorities on public health, climate, cyber and maritime security.

Mr Blinken also thanked President Joko Widodo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi for their “incredibly warm hospitality”.