SINGAPORE: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged on Saturday to provide nearly $300 million in new security funding for Southeast Asia, as China forges ahead with plans to bolster its engagement in the region.
Pompeo unveiled the figure to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign 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 the Indo-Pacific, the United States is excited to announce nearly $300 million in new funding to reinforce security cooperation throughout the entire region,” he said.
The new security assistance will strengthen maritime security, develop humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping capabilities and counter “transnational threats,” he added.
The United States said earlier this week it would invest $113 million in technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives in emerging Asia which he called “a downpayment on a new era of US economic commitment to the region.”
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 Belt and Road plan to bolster trade ties with nations in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Analysts have said that a spiraling trade dispute between Beijing and Washington could also ratchet up tensions over other regional hotspot issues, such as the South China Sea, claimed in whole by China and in part by some Southeast Asian nations.
China and the ASEAN bloc on Thursday hailed a “milestone” agreement on a single working text to kick off what will likely be protracted negotiations toward a code of conduct for behavior the disputed waters.
But critics have said that this enthusiasm for talks is a means for China to buy time and solidify its position during a period of relative dominance in the region.
Pompeo told reporters that he had raised concerns at the meeting about Chinese militarization of the South China Sea and the importance of maintaining a rules-based order in the region.
Progress toward resolving the continuing humanitarian in crisis in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state and other security issues were also essential to a free and open Indo-Pacific, he said.
The use of “Indo-Pacific” has grown among diplomats from Japan, Australia, India and the Untied States in recent years, a shorthand for a democratic-led region, as opposed to an “Asia-Pacific” with China at its center.
China says that its Belt and Road plan is about promoting the common prosperity of all nations involved, but critics see the signature policy of President Xi Jinping as a bid for greater political clout.
US pledges nearly $300 million security funding for Southeast Asia
US pledges nearly $300 million security funding for Southeast Asia
- The new security assistance will strengthen maritime security, develop humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping capabilities and counter “transnational threats”
- A spiraling trade dispute between Beijing and Washington could also ratchet up tensions over other regional hotspot issues
Row erupts in UK over support for British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah
- Arab Spring campaigner’s ‘abhorrent’ social media posts resurface after he arrived in Britain following release from Egyptian prison
- PM Starmer criticized for glowing welcome to activist who had previously been supported by both Tory and Labour governments
LONDON: The UK prime minister is facing criticism after he celebrated the return to Britain of a human rights activist who was recently released from an Egyptian prison but whose past social media posts apparently contained violent and antisemitic language.
Successive British governments have campaigned for the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a dual national who had been imprisoned in Egypt for most of the past 14 years. He returned to the UK on Friday after Egyptian authorities lifted a travel ban that had forced him to remain in the country since he was freed in September.
But a senior member of the opposition Conservative Party on Saturday criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for giving a “personal, public endorsement” to Abd El-Fattah when Starmer said he was “delighted” the activist had been reunited with his family in Britain.
Robert Jenrick, the Conservative spokesman on justice issues, demanded to know whether Starmer knew about historical social media posts in which Abd El-Fattah allegedly endorsed killing “Zionists’’ and police. Jenrick also called on Starmer to condemn Abd El-Fattah’s statements and withdraw his “unalloyed endorsement” of the activist.
“Nobody should be imprisoned arbitrarily nor for peaceful dissent,’’ Jenrick wrote. “But neither should the prime minister place the authority of his office behind someone whose own words cross into the language of racism and bloodshed.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement that it had been “a long-standing priority” of governments under both major parties to work for Abd El-Fattah’s release. But that does not imply an endorsement of his social media posts, the spokesman said.
“The government condemns Mr. El-Fattah’s historic tweets and considers them to be abhorrent,” the statement said, using a slightly different style for his last name.
Abd El-Fattah’s family in the UK had vigorously campaigned for his release, arguing that he had spent most of the past 14 years behind bars because of his opposition to the government of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
His mother, Laila Soueif, 69, staged a 10-month hunger strike to pressure British authorities to do more to secure her son’s release.
Starmer on Friday paid tribute to Abd El-Fattah’s family and all the others who campaigned for his freedom.
“I’m delighted that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and has been reunited with his loved ones, who must be feeling profound relief,” Starmer said.
But soon after Abd El-Fattah arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport, critics began circulating historical social media posts in which he appeared to endorse the killing of Zionists and police.
The Times of London reported that Abd El-Fattah has previously said the comments were taken out of context and were part of a “private conversation” that took place during an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Abd El-Fattah’s press team didn’t immediately response to a request for comment, and it was not immediately clear whether the posts were authentic.
