Jakarta, July 14 (AFP\/APP): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed unity Friday with Southeast Asian nations against “coercion”, in a thinly veiled reference to Beijing, as host Indonesia warned at talks that the region should not become a proxy for global rivalries.<\/p>\n
Blinken met foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta at a gathering that also brought the top diplomats of China and Russia, the two main adversaries to the United States.<\/p>\n
A day after his latest talks with China on managing tensions between the two powers, Blinken made a clear if unstated allusion to concerns shared with many in the region over Beijing.<\/p>\n
“We share a vision of the Indo-Pacific that is free, open, prosperous, secure, connected and resilient,” Blinken told ASEAN foreign ministers, using another term for the Asia region.<\/p>\n
“That means a region where countries are free to choose their own paths and their own partners, where problems are dealt with openly — not through coercion,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We must uphold the freedom of navigation in the South and East China Seas and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”<\/p>\n
Friction has been rising for years between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, over China’s sweeping claims to much of the South China Sea.<\/p>\n
Maritime incidents have been on the rise and tensions have also soared over Taiwan, the self-governing democracy which Beijing claims and has not ruled out seizing by force.<\/p>\n
But host Indonesia warned that ASEAN cannot become a proxy, as tensions flare not only between the United States and China but over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jakarta, July 14 (AFP\/APP): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed unity Friday with Southeast Asian nations against “coercion”, in a thinly veiled reference to Beijing, as host Indonesia warned at talks that the region should not become a proxy for global rivalries. Blinken met […]<\/p>\n
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