US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has expressed concern over China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea during the annual ASEAN summit in Vientiane, Laos, Al Jazeera reports.
Blinken condemned China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful actions” in the region, which have led to several violent confrontations with ASEAN members, threatening to escalate into a full-blown conflict.
China, which claims almost the entire South China Sea, has claims with ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as Taiwan. The sea is crucial for global trade, with about one-third of global trade transiting through its waters. It is also rich in fishing grounds, gas, and oil resources.
In recent months, Beijing has deployed military and coastguard vessels in an attempt to force the Philippines out of strategically vital reefs and islands in the South China Sea. China has also escalated pressure on Japan over a disputed island group in the East China Sea, raising tensions with Tokyo and its allies. Additionally, China has sent patrol vessels into areas claimed as exclusive economic zones by Indonesia and Malaysia.
Blinken stated that China’s actions “injured people, harmed vessels from ASEAN nations, and contradict commitments to peaceful resolution of disputes.” He pledged that the US would “support freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight in the Indo-Pacific.”
He also expressed the US’s commitment to working with ASEAN leaders to “protect stability across the Taiwan Strait,” a constant source of tension with China, which considers the self-ruled island of Taiwan as its own territory.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. voiced his concerns to summit leaders on Thursday, criticizing China’s “harassment and intimidation” and calling for urgency in ASEAN-China negotiations on a code of conduct governing the South China Sea.
Malaysia, set to assume the rotating chair of the 10-member ASEAN next year, is expected to push for faster progress on the code of conduct, which officials have agreed to finalize by 2026. However, discussions have been hampered by disagreements over whether the agreement should be legally binding.
While the US has no territorial claims in the South China Sea, it has deployed navy ships and fighter jets in the region.
