US Secretary of State Mike PompeoWashington DC (VNA) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hasunderscored the US commitment to partnering with ASEAN countries in economicrecovery efforts.
Pompeo made the statement when attendingthe 10th East Asia Summit Virtual Foreign Ministers’ Meeting between 10 ASEANcountries and their partners of China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea,Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the US, and the annual ASEAN-US ForeignMinisters’ Meeting held online within the framework of the 53rd ASEAN ForeignMinisters’ Meeting and related meetings from September 9-12.
At the meetings, he lauded ASEAN countriesfor their transparent responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and praised Vietnam -ASEAN Chair - for its work convening ASEAN Foreign Ministers during theseunprecedented times.
He reiterated US support for the ASEANOutlook on the Indo-Pacific and its role in guiding US engagement with ASEAN,and further emphasised the bloc’s important role at the centre of the US visionfor the Indo-Pacific.
Secretary Pompeo highlighted US support forprinciples of openness, inclusiveness, transparency, and respect forinternational law, which are shared across the US’s Indo-Pacific vision,ASEAN’s Outlook on the Indo Pacific, and the visions of many other EAS memberstates.
Regarding tensions in the East Sea, Pompeoraised concerns over the China’s aggressive actions in the sea. He reiterated that the US, in line with the2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award, regards Beijing’s expansive maritime claims inthe East Sea as unlawful.
He also called for a cessation of violenceand a negotiated solution to escalating violence in Rakhine State of Myanmar,and for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to abandon its weapon of massdestruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programmes, as required by UN SecurityCouncil resolutions./.
VNA
