ASEAN Summit: United States pitches for free and open Indo-Pacific, says NSA Robert O’Brien

This picture created from a teleconference offered by the Vietnam Information Company (VNA) reveals U.S. nationwide safety adviser Robert O’Brien throughout a digital summit with leaders of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump skipped a digital summit together with his Southeast Asian counterparts on Saturday, the third yr in a row that the U.S. is being represented at a decrease degree. (VNA through AP)

Washington: US Nationwide Safety Advisor Robert O’Brien has pitched for a free and open Indo-Pacific, a strategic area that has witnessed renewed international focus in view of China’s expansionist behaviour.

Addressing the US-ASEAN digital summit on Friday, O’Brien highlighted the great profit the partnership has delivered to the prosperity, safety and well-being of over one billion individuals in the US and ASEAN nations, the White Home mentioned in a press release.

He reaffirmed the US’ longstanding dedication to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it mentioned.

The ASEAN is taken into account one of the influential groupings within the area, and India and a number of other different nations together with the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue companions.

The digital ASEAN summit, which kicked-off on Thursday, is going down amid China’s aggressive behaviour within the disputed South China Sea. Various ASEAN nations have territorial disputes with China within the South China Sea.

Beijing claims virtually all the 1.3 million square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been constructing army bases on synthetic islands within the area which, in components, is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Beijing has impeded business exercise like fishing and mineral exploration by neighbouring nations lately, saying the possession of the resource-rich maritime territory belongs to China for a whole lot of years.

The ten member nations of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

O’Brien, who participated within the Summit as Donald Trump’s Particular Envoy, shared a message on behalf of the President welcoming the fifth anniversary of the US-ASEAN Strategic Partnership.

Trump attended the ASEAN summit in 2017, however despatched solely representatives over the last two conferences. A particular summit with the ASEAN that he was alleged to host in Las Vegas in March was known as off as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

O’Brien may even signify the US at an East Asia digital summit on Saturday.

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is the premier discussion board within the Asia-Pacific area to cope with points relating safety and defence.

Since its inception in 2005, it has performed a major function within the strategic, geopolitical and financial evolution of East Asia.

The digital summit on Saturday can be chaired by Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and can see participation from all of the 18 EAS nations.

Aside from the ten ASEAN member states, the East Asia Summit contains India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Russia.