ASEAN Summit: US Launches Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Says NSA Robert O’Brien

This image from a teleconference provided by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) shows US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien during a virtual summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Saturday. November 14, 2020. President Donald Trump skipped a virtual summit with his Southeast Asian counterparts on Saturday, the third year in a row the United States has been represented at a lower level. (VNA via AP)

Washington: US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien has advocated a free and open Indo-Pacific, a strategic region that has witnessed a renewed global focus in light of China’s expansionary behavior.

Addressing the US-ASEAN virtual summit on Friday, O’Brien highlighted the tremendous benefit the partnership has brought to the prosperity, security and well-being of more than one billion people in the United States and the nations of the ASEAN, the White House said in a statement. .

He reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, he said.

ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries, including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

The ASEAN virtual summit, which began on Thursday, is taking place amid China’s aggressive behavior in the disputed South China Sea. Several ASEAN countries have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims nearly the entire 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region that, in parts, is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Beijing has prevented commercial activity such as fishing and mineral exploration from neighboring nations in recent years, saying that ownership of the resource-rich maritime territory belongs to China for hundreds of years.

The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

O’Brien, who participated in the Summit as Donald Trump’s Special 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, but only sent representatives during the last two meetings. A special summit with ASEAN that he was supposed to organize in Las Vegas in March was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

O’Brien will also represent the United States at a virtual East Asia summit on Saturday.

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is the main forum in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss security and defense issues.

Since its inception in 2005, it has played an important role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of East Asia.

The virtual summit on Saturday will be chaired by the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and will feature the participation of the 18 countries of the EAS.

In addition to the 10 ASEAN member states, the East Asia Summit includes India, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Russia.