WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden told Southeast Asian countries on Wednesday the United States will stand with them in defending the freedom of the sea and democracy and mention China’s actions against Taiwan’s “coercive” and threats to peace and stability.
Speaking at the East Asia Summit Virtual who was attended by Premier Chinese Li Keqiang, Biden said Washington would start talking to partners in the Indo-Pacific about developing a regional economic framework, something that his regional strategy was said.
Southeast Asia has become a strategic battlefield between the United States and China, which controls most of the South China Sea, and Beijing has raised military and political pressure in Taiwan who is very democratic, a self-ruled island.
Biden reaffirmed that the United States has a “rock-solid” commitment to Taiwan.
“We are very concerned about the action of Chinese coercion,” Biden said, collecting them “threatening peace and regional stability.” Li Keqiang told the Summit, which brought together the leaders of the 10-nation association of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN) with regional partners, which enforced peace, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea were in everyone’s interest.
“The South China Sea is home with us,” he said.
Biden last week said the United States, who was required by the 1979 Law to provide Taiwan by defending himself, will come to the Taiwan defense if attacked by China.
The comments caused a stir because they seemed to depart from the old US policy of “strategic ambiguity” about how Washington would respond to such a scenario.
The White House said Biden did not signal a change in US policy towards Taiwan, and some analysts rejected their comments as a mistake.
Tensions between Taiwan and China have increased in recent weeks because Beijing has held a recurring air mission on the Taiwan Strait, the waterway separates the island and land.
China expressed displeasure in Biden’s comments last week, urged Washington “not to send the wrong signal to the strength of Taiwan’s independence, to avoid harming the bonds and peace of Sino-US seriously.” Biden joined the Southeast Asian leaders in Reguking Myanmar’s Junta.
“In Myanmar, we must overcome the tragedy caused by a military coup that is increasingly damaging regional stability,” he said, calling for the release of political prisoners and returning to democracy.
ASEAN started three days of the Summit on Tuesday without representatives from Myanmar after the general top exception to ignore the peace proposal.
Biden also said he would speak for “human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet (and) Hong Kong people’s rights.” China denies violations of rights in the area in the area of ​​Xinjiang and Tibet and in the former Hong Kong British colony.
Bidenbiden’s economic initiative said Washington would begin a discussion with partners in the Indo-Pacific to develop a regional economic framework.
The criticism of the US strategy for the region refers to the lack of economic components after former President Donald Trump withdraws from the trade agreement which is now known as a comprehensive and progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific partnerships in 2017.
Biden administration has so far avoided movement.
To return to the agreement that critics said they could cost US employment and a US government senior official emphasized that the initiative called the President “is not a trade transaction.” “What the President said …
is that we will begin discussions with partners to develop the economic framework to put us well for the future – the focus of the laser to make life better for our workers and middle class – and it will guide economic involvement We are in this region, “the official said.
The White House reading said the network imagined would also “define our mutual goals around trade facilitation” and the standards for decarbonization and clean energy.
Australia and ASEAN agree on Wednesday to establish “comprehensive strategic partnerships,” signs of Canberra’s ambition to play a greater role in the region.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the agreement would strengthen diplomatic and security bonds and promising the country to “support it with substance”.
Morrison tried to convince ASEAN that the trilateral security pact agreed last month between the United States, Britain and Australia, where Australia would gain access to a nuclear-powered submarine, it would not be a threat to the region.