US targets Asean partnership to ‘push back’ on China actions in South China Sea
- Senior envoy touts ‘shared view and vision for the region’ ahead of Antony Blinken’s visit to Jakarta, criticising Beijing’s ‘many irresponsible acts’
- Asean has struggled to coordinate a response to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, which oppose those of several of its members
“It’s not a matter of getting countries on board with the US view,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific affairs, of Blinken’s objective in Jakarta. “It’s a matter of working with our Asean partners to advance our shared view and vision for the region.”
This required the partnership “to push back on behaviour that runs counter to that vision and to those principles, including the many irresponsible acts that we’ve seen carried out by China over the last several years and in the last several weeks”, he added.
The meetings in Indonesia will focus on building American partnerships and “strengthening our relationships”, Kritenbrink said. Washington was not asking countries to choose, but was “simply ensuring that countries have choice and the ability to make their own sovereign decisions free from coercion”.
“I think we all believe that countries should base their maritime claims in international law, that maritime disputes should be resolved peacefully, that all countries should enjoy freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight and unimpeded commerce,” the senior envoy added.
Despite successfully promoting economic integration among members, Asean has struggled to coordinate a response to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, which oppose those of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
“We may not be seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but we see the tunnel and that’s where we are,” he said of the effort.
On Friday, the Philippine military’s western command said 48 Chinese fishing vessels were seen “swarming” a reef south of Recto Bank in the South China Sea during an air patrol at the end of June. Two Chinese naval vessels and three Chinese coastguard ships “are regularly loitering” a nearby shoal, the military added.
The South China Sea contains about 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet (3.1 billion cubic metres) of natural gas reserves, according to an estimate by the US Energy Information Administration.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a readout released on Thursday after a call with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, called Beijing’s conduct in the sea “coercive and risky”.
Earlier this week, the Philippine coastguard said its vessels were “constantly followed, harassed and obstructed” late last month by bigger Chinese ships in the South China Sea. China’s foreign ministry responded by saying its ships’ manoeuvres were “professional and restrained”.
Chinese and Philippine ships nearly collided in the disputed waters in April, with each side accusing the other of intrusion and provocation.
While Washington, a mutual defence treaty ally of Manila, does not have any territorial claims in the region, it asserts the right to innocent passage under the freedom of navigation. Beijing says US actions violate international law due to the use of military ships and aircraft.
Lately the region has become a geopolitical battleground for the US and China. Since becoming president, Biden has made significant efforts to deepen ties with Asean countries to counter China’s widening influence.
China has been Asean’s largest trading partner since 2009, while the group became Beijing’s largest trading partner for the first time in 2020.
In Jakarta, Blinken will emphasise Washington’s commitment to Asean “centrality and support” for its partnership with the US, according to a State Department statement on Friday.
Blinken will also take part in the second US-Indonesia strategic dialogue alongside his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi.
In April, Indonesia’s minister for maritime affairs and investment, Luhut Pandjaitan, said Jakarta would propose a “limited” free-trade agreement for some minerals shipped to the US. However, many Chinese companies have invested in refining facilities since 2020, when Indonesia banned exports of nickel ore.