US Calls for Freedom of ASEAN Countries to Choose Their Alliances

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized on July 14 the importance of ensuring the freedom of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to choose and forge alliances without facing coercion.
Speaking to reporters following the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia, Mr. Blinken said the United States and the 10-member bloc have embarked on “a new era” in their relations that are defined by increased collaboration.
The U.S. diplomat reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, where countries are able to operate “free from the use of force, coercion, or aggression.”
“That means a region where countries are free to choose their own path and their own partners; where problems are dealt with openly; where rules are reached transparently and applied fairly; where goods, where ideas, where people flow lawfully and freely,” he said….}