US pledges to cooperate with ASEAN in fostering economic recovery

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has underscored the US commitment to partnering with ASEAN countries in economic recovery efforts, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported Thursday.

It said Pompeo made the statement when attending the 10th East Asia Summit Virtual Foreign Ministers' Meeting between 10 ASEAN countries and their partners of China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the US, and the annual ASEAN-US Foreign Ministers' Meeting held online within the framework of the 53rd ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings from Sept 9 to 12.

VNA reported that at the meetings, Pompeo lauded ASEAN countries for their transparent responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and praised Vietnam - ASEAN Chair - for its work convening ASEAN Foreign Ministers during these unprecedented times.

He also reiterated US support for the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and its role in guiding US engagement with ASEAN, and further emphasised the bloc's important role at the centre of the US vision for the Indo-Pacific.

Pompeo also highlighted US support for principles of openness, inclusiveness, transparency, and respect for international law, which are shared across the US's Indo-Pacific vision, ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo Pacific, and the visions of many other EAS member states.

On the tensions in the East Sea, Pompeo raised concerns over the China's aggressive actions in the sea. He reiterated that the US, in line with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award, regards Beijing's expansive maritime claims in the East Sea as unlawful, VNA reported.

He also called for a cessation of violence and a negotiated solution to escalating violence in Rakhine State of Myanmar, and for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to abandon its weapon of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programmes, as required by UN Security Council resolutions.

-- BERNAMA