SINGAPORE: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged on Saturday to providenearly $300 million in new security funding for Southeast Asia, as Chinaforges ahead with plans to bolster its engagement in the region.link=
Pompeo unveiled the figure to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting offoreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) and other officials from around the world in Singapore.
“As part of our commitment to advancing regional security in theIndo-Pacific, the United States is excited to announce nearly $300 millionin new funding to reinforce security cooperation throughout the entireregion,” he said.
The new security assistance will strengthen maritime security, develophumanitarian assistance, peacekeeping capabilities and counter“transnational threats”, he added.
The United States said earlier this week it would invest $113 million intechnology, energy and infrastructure initiatives in emerging Asia which hecalled “a down payment on a new era of US economic commitment to theregion”.
The United States’ developing vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”comes at the same time as China ramps up its influence as part of is Beltand Road plan to bolster trade ties with nations in Southeast Asia andbeyond.
Analysts have said that a spiraling trade dispute between Beijing andWashington could also ratchet up tensions over other regional hotspots,such as the South China Sea, claimed in whole by China and in part by someSoutheast Asian nations.