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ASEAN Summit: US says region must be free to choose partners

July 14, 2023

Antony Blinken said Southeast Asian countries can make their own choices while at a meeting in Jakarta. The comments come as China's claims over sweeping parts of the South China Sea cause controversy in the region.

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Southeast Asian leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta
The US and Southeast Asian countries held talks as China makes provocative moves in the region, such as maritime intimidation towards Philippine vessels at sea Image: DITA ALANGKARA/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday highlighted the importance of Washington's relations with Southeast Asian countries at a biannual high-level meeting in Jakarta.

Blinken met counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who have gathered in Indonesia along with top diplomats from China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia.  

Blinken: Issues should not be addressed through 'coercion' 

Blinken said that countries should be free to determine their own paths and problems should be "dealt with openly — not through coercion," in a veiled reference to Beijing and just a day after holding talks with China's Wang Yi. 

The US diplomat said that increased cooperation meant "deepening efforts to tackle together complex challenges," and addressed some of the challenges facing the region, among them, tensions surrounding territorial claims in the South and East China Seas.

"We must uphold the freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," Blinken said.

China has increased sea and air incursions in recent years around self-ruled Taiwan which it considers part of its territory.

The US has also said that China harassed Philippine ships in the South China Sea.  

"The Indo-Pacific must not be another battleground," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi cautioned ministers.

Blinken meets South Korean, Japanese counterparts amid North Korea tensions

In addition, Blinken spoke about tensions with North Korea and pledged to work with allies to "deter" aggression during trilateral sideline talks with South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan on the sidelines of the Jakarta summit
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed to stand together with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts after North Korea recently launched a ballistic missile Image: Dita Alangkara/Pool/REUTERS

"We are joined resolutely in a common defense and making sure that we are doing everything possible to deter and defend against any aggression," Blinken said.

Meanwhile Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned of "overwhelming nuclear deterrence" unless the US changed its "hostile policy" against Pyongyang, according to state media.

North Korea test fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in three months on Wednesday morning.

Pyongyang has referred to the weapon as the centerpiece of its nuclear strike capability, using it as a signal to the United States and other adversaries.

kb/wd (AFP, Reuters)