Singapore: The Vice President of the United States (USA), Kamala Harris, will continue here today the second day of a tour of Southeast Asia whose main objective is to counteract the influence of China in the region, Prensa Latina publishes.
The day before, after her talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the president told a press conference that ‘Beijing’s actions (in the East or South China Sea) undermine the rule-based order and threaten the sovereignty of the nations’.
The United States supports our allies and partners in the face of these threats, she stressed.
China and several Southeast Asian nations claim sovereignty over various islands and portions of the East Sea, which are a third larger than the Mediterranean and twice the size of the Gulf of Mexico. A large part of international trade flows through there.
Within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and in other international forums, the Asian giant maintains permanent contacts with the other countries involved in the dispute to find a solution, and accuses the United States of meddling and fueling the conflict.
Harris’s comments are part of the Joseph Biden administration’s strategy to restore its relations with Asia, damaged during the Donald Trump administration, and to build a base of allies against China.
Also to rebuilds the deteriorated image of her country, still in disarray from Afghanistan after 20 years of a futile “anti-terrorist” crusade.
Our government has an enduring commitment to Singapore, Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, she said at yesterday’s press conference with the clear intention of restoring the credit of her Asian allies who rely on US military support for their security.
This Tuesday, before traveling to Vietnam, the second and last leg of her tour, Harris will participate in a conference with executives from the main Singaporean companies.