US Sec. of State: Indo-Pacific nations would prefer USA as partner over China

美國務部長：印度太平洋國家希望美國成為中國伙伴

A Cabinet level conference between US and Australian official was held in California July 23-24


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) –U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking at a cabinet level meeting with Australian Ministers and the U.S. Secretary of Defense on July 24, said that he believes nations of the South Pacific would prefer a partnership with the United States over one with China.

The remarks came at the 2018 Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultation held at Stanford University in California.

Pompeo along with Secretary of Defense James Mattis and their Australian Counterparts, Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Minister for Defense Marise Payne reaffirmed the longstanding U.S.-Australia alliance as one a relationship that is “steadfast and enduring, and underpinned by a deep alignment of mutual interests and shared values.”

In remarks to the press following the private meetings Pompeo suggested that the U.S. was a much more attractive partner in the long term than China. He explained his reasoning by saying:


“I think the South Pacific, like most places in the world, understands the enormity of having an American ally, a country that consistently over decades projects democratic values. The human dignity that comes with having an American partner is different from having partners that aren’t quite that way. I think over time that will ultimately prevail, not only in the South Pacific, but all across the world.”


Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was quoted by the Associated Press as saying:


"The United States is the global bastion of freedom and democracy, and the great appeal of the United States and one of its undoubted strengths is its network of alliances and partnerships around the world."


The leaders of both delegations issued a joint statement that said they will work together to ensure that the Indo-Pacific is “open, inclusive, prosperous, and rules based,” reports Reuters.

The press statement likewise emphasized the need to uphold the principle of “freedom of navigation” stating that China’s “militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea is contrary to the region’s desire for peaceful development.”

The joint statement also announced plans to increase cooperation in areas of cyber security and to cooperate over the coming years to ensure that North Korea will be safely and thoroughly denuclearized.