The US Secretary of State arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Saturday morning for the first day of a new tour of Asia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday accused China of escalating illegal actions in the South China Sea, hours before meeting his Chinese counterpart in Laos on the sidelines of a regional meeting.
The US Secretary of State arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Saturday morning for the first day of a new tour of Asia, his 18th in the region, during which he intends to reaffirm the leadership of the United States of America in the face of the influence of China.
Its priority is to promote a “free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” an American expression for an area free of influence, a veiled way of criticizing China for its economic, territorial and regional strategies.
The United States of America and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must work together to overcome challenges, Blinken told ministers of the ten member countries of that regional bloc, namely “China’s increasing and illegal actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea in recent months.”
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are at odds with China over its sovereignty claims over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important waterways. Indonesia has also expressed concern over what it sees as an encroachment by Beijing into its exclusive economic zone.
The United States and its allies have regularly conducted military exercises and patrols in the area to enforce their “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy, including the right to navigate in international waters, prompting criticism from China.
Tensions between the Philippines, a US ally, and China have been on the rise this year. In June, a Chinese ship and a Philippine supply vessel collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, sparking alarm.
ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Cambodia, Brunei and Laos – stressed at their opening meetings that it was important not to be dragged along by China and the United States, which are seeking to expand their influence.
Source: Observadora
