Jakarta. The US recently said that its relations with ASEAN were at the heart of its engagements in the Indo-Pacific, as Washington viewed the Southeast Asian bloc as having the same vision for how the region should be: open, free, and prosperous.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday joined a series of talks during the East Asia Summit, US-ASEAN talks, and the ASEAN Regional Forum in Jakarta. As expected, the Indo-Pacific, which stretches from the Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean, was high up on the agenda in the dialogues. 

Both ASEAN and the US have their respective flagship documents that lay out how they envision the Indo-Pacific, namely the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. According to Blinken, these documents show how like-minded Washington and ASEAN are as they both aim for an open and free Indo-Pacific region.

“We discussed deepening cooperation to realize our shared vision: a free, open, prosperous, secure, interconnected, and resilient Indo-Pacific. That means a region where countries are free to choose their own path and partners,” Blinken told a press conference on the wrap-up of his Jakarta trip on Friday night.

“Where problems are dealt with openly; where rules are reached transparently and applied fairly; where goods, ideas, people flow lawfully and freely. At the heart of that approach is our comprehensive strategic partnership with ASEAN, ASEAN centrality, and the AOIP,” he said.

To this end, both ASEAN and the US need to make sure that freedom of commerce, navigation, and overflight are in place. Blinken added: “[we have to make sure] that we have a rules-based order and every country plays by the same rules that are established together transparently.”

Washington also sees the UNCLOS -- an international pact that provides a legal framework for marine and maritime activities -- as a foundational aspect of the said rules-based order. “We are committed to working with the countries around the region to uphold it,” Blinken told the press.

According to the US Indo-Pacific Strategy document, the region accounts for 60 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). The Indo-Pacific is also the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment in the US. The region also supports more than 3 million American jobs. Under the AOIP, ASEAN aims to promote regional peace, as well as cooperation in maritime, connectivity, sustainable development goals, and economy, among others.

In Nov. 2022, ASEAN and the US established a comprehensive strategic partnership, which embodies a stronger commitment to further strengthen relations.

Add as a preferred source on Google +