US says it will stand 100 percent with ASEAN and increase investments

Photo – Rubio said that the US intends to continue to strengthen its long-term strategic partnership with ASEAN for another 50 years and beyond. Mizzima US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has firmly stated that the United States will continue to stand 100 percent with ASEAN and will provide $2.5 billion in strategic investments to the ASEAN region. Following President Donald Trump's policy, the ASEAN region is the center of America's main strategic engagement, Rubio said. He emphasized that these investments are not purely charitable but are made for the direct benefit of America's national interests, and that the US will not abandon its partner countries under any circumstances, speaking at the ASEAN-US Ministerial Meeting. According to him, the US government will make strategic investments of $2.5 billion for economic development, the digital economy, electricity and energy security, aviation infrastructure, and supply chains in the ASEAN region. He also stated that an additional $1.5 billion has been approved by the Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Rubio added that the US will provide nearly $130 million in demining assistance for the safety of civilians in ASEAN countries, and that the security and prosperity of the US and ASEAN are interdependent, as important historical events of the 21st century will be written in this ASEAN region. "The security and prosperity of ASEAN and the United States, which will become the economic engine of the world in the 21st century, must be interdependent," Rubio emphasized. Rubio also highlighted that the US intends to continue to strengthen its long-term strategic partnership with ASEAN for another 50 years and beyond. In addition to regional issues, Secretary Rubio also addressed the Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz issue. He criticized that while the US always keeps the door open for peaceful resolution through diplomacy, Iran is failing to adhere to its commitments. He sternly warned that Iran has no right to unilaterally control and collect tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway, and that the US and its partners will defend against any threat that would affect freedom of navigation, and will not allow this strait, through which 20 percent of the world's energy supply passes, to be held hostage.