Indonesia, Singapore steer clear of US-China dispute in Pompeo’s South China Sea outreach
- The US secretary of state called the Asean nations’ foreign ministers after Malaysia’s unusually strong rebuke last week of China’s ‘nine-dash line’
- Singapore and Jakarta’s accounts of the discussion reflect their strategic priorities, analysts say, as they battle Covid-19 and economic volatility
The US Department of State on Tuesday published brief statements on Pompeo’s conversations with the ministers. With Retno, he spoke about the Covid-19 crisis and security issues as well as American support for Southeast Asian states upholding their interests in the South China Sea under international law.
With Balakrishnan, Pompeo underscored Washington’s opposition to Beijing’s efforts to “use coercion to push its unlawful” maritime assertions in the South China Sea, where Taiwan and four Southeast Asian states – Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei – count themselves as claimants.
The call came just days after Putrajaya rebuked China’s assertions that Malaysia had no right to seek the establishment of its continental shelf in the northern part of the sea. While Malaysia had always taken this stance, the language used in the note verbale to the United Nations was unusually strong.
William Choong, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said the move to reach out to Singapore and Indonesia was to “accumulate some measure of support” within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for the US’ stance on the South China Sea. He referred to a July 13 statement by Pompeo which described Beijing’s claims as “completely unlawful”.
“The grand arc is the US conducting a full-frontal assault on China, not just on economics but values [and] freedom of navigation,” said Choong, adding that it was coherent with the US narrative that China was undermining regional order and that there was a need for like-minded states to uphold international law.