US-ASEAN Ties To Gain From Future Strategic Partnership

By Linda Khoo KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- The United States (US) says it is working with ASEAN to elevate their strategic partnership to a level that will bring further progress between both sides. In a written interview with Bernama ahead of the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry in Malaysia for ASEAN-related meetings, the US mission here noted that the partnership had continually grown and evolved since 1977. "By forming a strategic partnership, we will ensure that progress continues now and long into the future," it said. The embassy drove home the point that ASEAN was a critical part of the US's Southeast Asia foreign policy. "We strongly support a regional architecture with ASEAN at the centre, which is why we're working with ASEAN to strengthen its role as a regional and global leader," it said. Kerry will lead the US delegation to the 5th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting (EAS FMM), 22nd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Lower Mekong Initiative Ministers Meeting, in addition to the ASEAN-US Ministerial Meeting. He is expected to meet with his counterparts from several nations during his visit to Malaysia which is currently hosting the 48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM), Post-Ministerial Conferences and Related Meetings. The US mission said the conferences in Kuala Lumpur would produce many initiatives and statements, but collectively this effort would support a regional architecture with ASEAN at the centre. "For example, we believe that ASEAN can play a positive role in reducing tensions in the South China Sea," it said, adding that the important waterway was one issue that the US would focus on with regard to its partnership with ASEAN. The mission said the US opposed further militarisation of features by any claimant in disputed areas of the South China Sea. "We believe that all claimants should exercise self-restraint by committing to halt reclamation, cease construction of new facilities and not further militarise features in the South China Sea," it said. The mission said the US recognised the important role that ASEAN, which groups 10 Southeast Asian countries, and ASEAN-centric institutions played in the Asia Pacific region. "ASEAN has been instrumental in the rapid economic growth and maintaining peace and security in Southeast Asia," it said. On the EAS, the US embassy pointed out that the platform had developed into what it described as the region's most important venue for leaders to discuss political and security issues. "We want to take advantage of its 10th anniversary to strengthen the EAS for the next decade and beyond," it said. The embassy further said that the US was working closely with its ARF and EAS partners to protect and preserve the marine environment. "The oceans are our most important resource in the region. They produce food, regulate climate and facilitate trade. They are also vulnerable," it said. It said the US believed that by cooperating more closely, all stakeholders would be able to support a secure and prosperous region. The 48th AMM was opened by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak earlier Tuesday. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. -- BERNAMA