By Jim Garamone, DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON -- The current international order has been a
boon for the nations of Southeast Asia, and the United States is working to
ensure the nations of the region and world continue to enjoy the benefits of
that order, the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security
Affairs said yesterday.
Randall D. Schriver told an audience at the American
Enterprise Institute here that the Defense Department has a key role to play in
preserving the international order, but that DoD is only one part of a
whole-of-government approach.
The whole-of-government approach, with security, economic
and governance pillars, is the way forward for the United States and the
region, he said. Southeast Asia is the heart of the Indo-Pacific region and
thus, is an important part of the total Indo-Pacific strategy.
Competition
There is an unfolding competition in the region between
China and nations committed to the current international order, Schriver said.
“Our strategy is an affirmative, positive one and it is
inclusive,” he said. “While it is not aimed at any particular country, there
should be little doubt that much of the Chinese behavior is demonstrating
objectives that run counter to our objectives for a free and open
Indo-Pacific.”
The United States wants a positive relationship with China,
the assistant secretary said. However, he added, China’s leaders “need to
understand that while we seek cooperation where our interests align, we will
compete where we must.”
Schriver said nations of the region say they do not want to
choose between the United States and China. But Chinese activities -- such as
aggressive economic statecraft and illegally militarizing the South China Sea
-- are forcing nations to contemplate the situation, he said.
The choice for nations “is really between partnership or
domination, independence and self-reliance or a mortgaged future, full
sovereignty or coercion, international law norms or irredentist claims and
control,” he said.
International Rules-Based Order
Schriver said the international rules-based order is aimed
at maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region. “By free, we mean nations
will be free from coercion and able to protect their sovereignty,” he
explained.
Open refers to nations enjoying freedom of the seas and
airways, Schriver said.
Southeast Asia is a growing trading partner of the United
States, and the Philippines and Thailand are American treaty allies. Sea lanes
through the region carry the life’s blood of world prosperity and must remain
open.
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis realizes the importance of
the area and has made seven trips to the Indo-Pacific region since taking
office. Four of those trips included Southeast Asia.
“Our routine presence in the Indo-Pacific is a vital source
of regional stability and serves as an important demonstration of our
commitment to the region,” Schriver said. “Freedom of navigation [exercises] …
are the most visible part of that, but we are engaged in activities, exercises
and operations across the region every day. The U.S. military is active on a
daily basis to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the
Indo-Pacific demonstrating our commitment to fly, sale and operate wherever
international law allows.”
Countries are concerned about the challenge to the status
quo and they are joining the United States to assert these basic right, he
said.
The U.S. military is helping nations of the region build
their defense capabilities and capacity, Shriver said, and the U.S. is working
with individual countries and groups such as the Association of South East
Asian Nations to increase intelligence sharing and exchanges of information.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment