U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore on June 1, 2024.
Nhac Nguyen | Afp | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – The United States remains vital to the future of the Indo-Pacific region, which Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says is “more vital than ever” to the US.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin said Washington’s continued commitment to the region has been a “springboard” that has enabled transformative growth in the region.
“We’re all there. No, we’re not going anywhere.”
He believed that both the United States and this region “are safer and more prosperous when we work together,” citing partnerships in the region including with the Philippines, Australia and Japan.
Austin said the region is experiencing a “new convergence” on almost all aspects of Indo-Pacific security.
This “convergence,” he explained, is not an alliance or a coalition. Instead, Austin describes it as a series of overlapping and complementary initiatives and institutions driven by a shared vision and a sense of mutual obligation.
“This new convergence is about coming together, not falling apart. “It is not about enforcing the will of a country, the interests we share and the values we value,” Austin said.
Those values, he said, include respect for sovereignty and international law, freedom of sea and air, and “the peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue and not through coercion or conflict. And certainly not through so-called punishment.” .”
While Austin did not directly mention China in his speech, China had launched “punitive exercises” around Taiwan on May 23, three days after the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te.
Beijing claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory and brands Lai a “separatist.”
NATO in the Indo-Pacific
During the question-and-answer portion, Austin was asked by Lt. Col. Cao Yanzhong of China whether the U.S. was trying to build a “NATO-lite” alliance in the region and posited that NATO’s eastward expansion in Europe would lead to Russia- Ukraine alliance leads to conflict.
“I respectfully disagree with your position that NATO expansion caused the Ukraine crisis,” Austin replied, drawing applause from the room.
He placed the blame on Russian President Vladimir Putin, pointing out that “the Ukraine crisis was apparently caused by Putin’s decision to unlawfully invade his neighbor, which at the time had an inferior military.”
“He assumed that he could very quickly overrun his neighbor and annex the country. That was more than two years ago. To date, he has not achieved any of his strategic goals. But this happened because of a decision made by Mr. Putin.”
Addressing a question about whether the US intended to form a NATO-style coalition in the Indo-Pacific region, Austin explained that the goal was to work with like-minded countries to share a common vision of a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” to reach. “
“We have strengthened relationships with our allies and partners and we see other countries strengthening their relationships with each other in the region.”
“That’s good news, but that’s because they have a shared vision and shared values. And we will continue to do such things in the future,” he concluded.
Separately, Austin was also asked by a reporter whether the U.S. would consider the death of a Filipino citizen in the South China Sea an act of war, referring to a question posed to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday. Marcos had responded that intentional death was “very, very close to what we define as an act of war.”
The US defense secretary said that while he would not speculate on hypothetical situations, Washington’s commitment to the mutual defense treaty was “ironclad.”
“No questions, no exceptions,” Austin said.
Still, he said the U.S. would try to ensure such a situation does not occur by promoting dialogue and ensuring that countries work together to promote freedom of the seas and air.
“There are a number of things that can happen at sea or in the air. We are aware of this. But our goal is to make sure we don’t allow things to get unnecessarily out of control,” Austin said.
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2024-06-01 04:02:54
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