Blinken takes aim at China’s ‘aggressive actions’, says US protecting all countries’ rights in Indonesia speech

In a speech at the University of Indonesia, Washington’s top diplomat accused Beijing of distorting open markets, claiming open seas and weaponising trade

Vowing to forge stronger economic and security ties with the Indo-Pacific, he said the US would continue to ‘push back’ against China’s behaviour in the region

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on Tuesday at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Published: 2:53pm, 14 Dec 2021Updated: 3:59pm, 14 Dec 2021

China’s “aggressive actions” in the Indo-Pacific have worried governments across the region, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Indonesia on Tuesday, as he denied that Washington was trying to “keep any country down”.

The United States’ top diplomat said his government’s overarching concern was upholding rights and agreements that would ensure the region, and the world, stayed “peaceful and prosperous”.

“The goal of defending the rules-based order is not to keep any country down. Rather, it’s to protect the right of all countries to choose their own path. Free from coercion, free from intimidation. It’s not about a contest between a US-centric region or a China-centric region. The Indo-Pacific is its own region,” Blinken said in a speech at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta on Tuesday. Photo: Pool via Reuters

“That’s why there’s so much concern from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia, and from the Mekong River to the Pacific Islands, about Beijing’s aggressive actions. Claiming open seas as their own. Distorting open markets through subsidies to its state-run companies. Denying exports, revoking deals for countries whose policies it does not agree with. Engaging in illegal unreported and unregulated fishing activities. Countries across the region want this behaviour to change. We do too.”

The US will “continue to push back against such behaviour”, Blinken said – especially in the South China Sea, where he said it “threatened the movement of more than US$3 trillion worth of commerce every year”.

“It’s also why we have an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, consistent with our long-standing commitments,” he said.

Reiterating remarks made by US President Joe Biden to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last month, Blinken said “we share a profound responsibility to ensure that the competition between our countries does not veer into conflict”.