MANILA— Representatives of the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reaffirmed their commitment to the rules-based order and to the ASEAN-centered regional architecture at a recently concluded dialogue in Malaysia.
Bureau of US-East Asian and Pacific Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Susan Thornton co-chaired the 31st US-ASEAN Dialogue on April 3 together with Secretary General Dato’ Ramlan Ibrahim of Malaysia.
Representing the Philippines was Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Hellen De La Vega.
In a press statement on Wednesday issued by the US embassy, the two parties noted “fruitful exchanges” in various aspects of cooperation, including the free and open Indo-Pacific concept.
They stressed need to ensure peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, including in the South China Sea, with full respect for legal and diplomatic processes.
Participants noted efforts to achieve a meaningful Code of Conduct, an agreement to handle overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, but expressed “shared concerns” about ongoing militarization of outposts in the sea lane.
They reiterated commitment to uphold the international community’s rights and freedoms in lawful uses of the sea.
They also underscored the importance of countering terrorism and implementing United Nations Security Council Resolutions to prevent foreign terrorists’ travel. To support this, they noted the commitment to information sharing, security, countering terrorism finance, and preventing and countering violent extremism.
Participants also expressed the need for states to adhere to international law and non-binding peacetime norms in their use of information and communications technologies and shared concerns about malicious actors exploiting cyberspace.
Among others, ASEAN and Washington also hailed recent developments indicating the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) willingness to engage with latter towards denuclearization, however, sharing “continued grave concern” about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
They committed to maintaining maximum pressure until the DPRK takes concrete steps towards “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization,” and further called for full implementation of all relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
US and ASEAN had been dialogue partners since 1977. Washington was the first non-ASEAN country to name an Ambassador to the bloc in 2008.
In June 2010, it became the first non-ASEAN country to establish a dedicated mission to ASEAN in Jakarta. (Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA)