Anthony Blinken
Vientiane, Laos: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders on Friday that the United States is concerned about Beijing’s “increasingly dangerous and illegal” activities in the disputed South China Sea. Blinken pledged during the annual ASEAN summit that the United States would continue to maintain freedom of navigation on the vital maritime trade route.
America has made its position clear
“We are deeply concerned about China’s increasingly dangerous and illegal activities in the South China Sea, which are pushing people there,” Blinken, who was attending the conference on behalf of President Joe Biden, said in his opening remarks at the US-ASEAN summit. There were casualties and damage to ASEAN ships and violations of obligations related to the peaceful resolution of disputes. He added: “The United States will continue to support freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight in the Indo-Pacific region.” The United States has no claims over the South China Sea, but has deployed naval ships and fighter aircraft to patrol the region to challenge China’s claims.
Learn about China’s claim
The meeting with Blinken for leaders of the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comes after a series of violent confrontations at sea between China and the ASEAN member states of the Philippines and Vietnam, raising concerns about China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the waterways. It could escalate into a large-scale conflict. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire sea, while ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei as well as Taiwan also have their own claims to it.
What did China do?
About a third of global trade passes through the sea, which is also rich in fish, gas and oil. Beijing has refused to accept a 2016 international arbitration ruling by the UN court based in The Hague that invalidated China’s sweeping claims. Not only that, but China carried out construction and militarization work on the islands under its control. (AP)
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