China\'s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, and Indonesia\'s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi pose with the mascots from next month\'s Asian Games in Indonesia, a gift from Marsudi ahead of a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018.
SINGAPORE, KOMPAS – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Singapore on Friday (3/8/2018) that the country remained committed to be involved in ASEAN affairs and in supporting an Indo-Pacific strategy. He also reminded that “the law will be enforced on the South China Sea”.
Pompeo made his statement in the US-ASEAN Summit at the Singapore Expo, just one day after ASEAN announced that its negotiation with China on the South China Sea dispute had reached progress. This was part of Pompeo’s diplomatic move of proposing the US’s strategic economic visions with regards to its Indo-Pacific policies in South East Asia.
“We remain committed to ASEAN centrality and our Indo-Pacific strategy,” Pompeo said.
“On Monday, I announced the Indo-Pacific strategy, the United States’ new commitment in the region that involves US$113 million as the start of a new era of our economic commitment for the sake of peace and welfare in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
He continued: “I appreciate ASEAN’s ongoing efforts to promote peace and stability in the region, support the rule of law in the South China Sea and in strictly enforcing sanctions on North Korea.”
On the previous day, ASEAN Foreign Ministers met with China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the ASEAN-China Forum. After the meeting, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakhrisnan released a joint communique that included an ASEAN-China agreement on a single draft for a code of conduct in South China Sea disputes.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said that, in his meeting with ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Pompeo did not explain the US’s Indo-Pacific strategy in detail. “There were questions on the US$113-million fund, but [Pompeo gave] no further detail,” she said. “I have talked with Japan. [They said] it was just a start and other countries, including Japan, will also join in giving money.”
In its strategic vision, US President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed an Indo-Pacific policy, which – in Washington’s perspective – encompasses the vast maritime region between the US’s west coast and India’s west coast. The South China Sea is a large part of the US’s Indo Pacific strategy. Washington has demanded the region to be “free and open”. In his speech at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Washington on Monday, Pompeo said that, by being “free and open”, all countries in the South China Sea will be able to protect their respective sovereignty from foreign interference and gain open access on the sea and the air.
The Indo-Pacific strategy is seen as the US’ effort to counter China’s domination through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is part of China’s ambition of uniting Asia, Africa and Eurasia through projects funded by loans from Beijing.
Apart from Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop also brought up the South China Sea dispute before the ASEAN Foreign Ministers. “Another challenge [for ASEAN] is the maritime border disputes in the South China Sea,” she said. “Considering that a huge part of our trade goes through the South China Sea, Australia provides serious and continuous attention on the code of conduct negotiations.”
Fighting protectionism
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which will end this Saturday, serves as a medium for ASEAN members and partners to fight off the US’s protectionist and anti-multilateral policies under Trump. Retno said that ASEAN had consistently stood beside its partners, including South Korea, Canada, Australia, Japan and others to safeguard multilateralism and fight off protectionism.
In a European Union (EU)-ASEAN meeting, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that EU stood together with ASEAN. “We all stand together in our collaboration and in looking for solutions, based on international regulations on multilateralism,” she said.
