The United States (U.S.) and China reiterated their mutual complaints on Saturday as the foreign ministers of the two countries, Antony Blinken and Wang Yi, held their sixth meeting since last year amidst an uncertain political situation in the U.S. and growing concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness in Asia and elsewhere.
Blinken and Wang talked for about an hour and 20 minutes on the sidelines of the annual Southeast Asian security forum (ASEAN) in Vientiane, Laos, where tensions between China and the U.S. ally the Philippines over disputes in the South China Sea were a focal point of discussions.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, said that Blinken and Wang had an “open and productive” discussion but did not reach any significant agreements on the issues that most divide them in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas.
“The U.S. will continue to take necessary actions to protect our interests and values, as well as those of our allies and partners, including human rights,” Blinken told Wang, according to Miller.
Blinken criticized China for “destabilizing actions in the South China Sea” and “reaffirmed U.S. support for freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law,” Miller said.
The U.S. Secretary of State praised China and the Philippines for reaching an agreement earlier this week, which allowed the Philippines on Saturday to supply a disputed area without the need to confront Beijing’s forces, marking the first such journey since the agreement was concluded.
Prior to the agreement, tensions between the Philippines and China had escalated for months, with the Chinese coast guard and other forces using powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers to prevent food and other supplies from reaching Philippine navy personnel at the Second Thomas Shoal.
At the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Laos, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was also present, but a senior official said Blinken did not interact with him.
Other ASEAN topics
At the ASEAN forum, in which India, Australia, Japan, and the EU participated, in addition to the tensions in the South China Sea, the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, as well as the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, were discussed.
On the forum’s sidelines, Lavrov stated that guidelines on the operation of U.S. nuclear assets on the Korean Peninsula, which are officially aimed at establishing integrated deterrence against North Korean threats, contribute to regional security concerns.
Blinken previously said that the U.S. “works intensively every day” to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and find a path to lasting peace and security.
He made these remarks after Retno Marsudi, Indonesia’s foreign minister – representing the world’s largest Muslim-majority country – stressed the urgent need for sustainable peace.
Retno also stated that international law should apply to everyone, indirectly referencing recent decisions by two international courts regarding Israeli offensives in Gaza, Radio Slobodna Evropa reports.
