Kuala Lumpur, Feb 17 (NNN-Bernama) — A United States (US) senior diplomat on Thursday reaffirmed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) centrality in the country’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
Speaking to the media in a conference call, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said the US believed that ASEAN is absolutely central to the future of the Indo-Pacific and to America’s own security and prosperity.
“And collectively, the 10 countries of ASEAN with 650 million people, and the world’s fourth largest economy is certainly of great importance to the US,” he said.
Kritenbrink also reiterated President Joe Biden’s statement at the ASEAN-US summit and 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) in October last year that the country is committed to expanding its relationship with ASEAN in every way.
This includes in security matters, ensuring freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight, matters related to illegal fishing, as well as in economy such as securing the supply chains.
“But then also, we’ve made clear that with ASEAN, we intend to cooperate on a broad range of other issues from global health and climate, to issues related to the Mekong (river) and of course continuing to grow our very substantial people-to-people ties, including through the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative,” he added.
The Biden administration last Friday unveiled its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy sought to strengthen the US role in the region.
In a 12-page document, the US vowed to bolster its security and economic role to advance a free and open region, while building “collective capacity” with its allies, according to media report.
On a question whether China will be included in the US Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which is expected to be launched in the near future, Kritenbrink said the country has currently “no intention” of engaging with China regarding the framework.
“I think it’s safe to say that we are engaged in initial conversations with partners across the region, who share our vision of the kind of region that we want to live in, again, a free and open region in which countries are free from coercion and are able to pursue their economic and security interests freely in an unhindered fashion,” he said.
The US Indo-Pacific strategy among others proposed the establishment of an economic framework which aims to develop new approaches to trade that meet high labour and environmental standards.
According to the document, the framework also seeks to govern digital economies and cross-border data flows according to open principles, advance resilient and secure supply chains that are diverse, open, and predictable, and make shared investments in decarbonisation and clean energy.
— NNN-BERNAMA