KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The 33rd US-ASEAN Dialogue held on Wednesday highlighted the broad range of cooperation across political-security, economic and socio-cultural pillars between the two sides while underscoring the importance of their Strategic Partnership in securing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
According to the Office of the Spokesperson of the US Department of State, the dialogue was co-chaired by Laos’ Deputy Foreign Minister Thongphane Savanphet and Assistant Secretary David R. Stilwell of the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
“The US reaffirmed its commitment to work with ASEAN in securing a region based on clear and transparent rules, and to strengthen the ASEAN-centered regional architecture,” the Office said in a media note available on the US Department of State website.
It said participants of the dialogue also reaffirmed the need for peaceful dispute resolution in the South China Sea in accordance with international law as reflected in the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling.
Meanwhile, on the issue of North Korea, the US urged ASEAN countries to continue implementing and enforcing UN sanctions.
Washington also stressed that Pyongyang must halt provocations, abide by its obligations under the UN Security Council Resolutions, and engage in sustained negotiations with the US to achieve complete denuclearisation.
During the dialogue, the US also expressed concern over the continued violence in Rakhine state, calling for a cessation of fighting, a negotiated solution, and deepened efforts to address root causes of violence to facilitate the dignified, safe, voluntary and sustainable return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees.
The US highlighted the growing US-ASEAN Health Futures initiative, including over US$87 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to combat COVID-19 in ASEAN.
“The US-ASEAN Health Futures Alumni Network, a group of 2,400 alumni of US exchange programme alumni, is building relationships between US and ASEAN public health practitioners for a safer and healthier future for our combined one billion population,” it said.
Participants also welcomed the continued growth of economic ties between the US and ASEAN and agreed on the importance of sustainable, transparent growth that promotes ASEAN’s resilience against unsustainable debt, especially during the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
The US also highlighted its “All of America” approach and the role the private sector, academia and civil society play in economic development.
Both sides also looked forward to further strengthening the ties at the US-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and the US-ASEAN Summit in November.
The US became a dialogue partner with ASEAN in 1977 and became the very first non-ASEAN country to name an Ambassador to ASEAN in 2008.
Following that, the US also became the first non-ASEAN country to establish a dedicated Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta, and in 2011 its first resident Ambassador to ASEAN was appointed.
The US-ASEAN relationship was elevated to a strategic partnership at the US-ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in November 2015.
In February 2016, the United States hosted the Sunnylands Summit, the first US-ASEAN Summit hosted in the US.
