(VOVWORLD) - The US State Department recently released a report titled “A free and open Indo-Pacific: Advancing a shared vision”, focused on cooperation between the US and its allies in the region.
According to the report, the US will continue cooperating with its partners and allies to maintain an orderly, free and open region and ensure peace and security, free navigation, and legal maritime activities. The US called on all claimants, including China, to resolve disputes peacefully, without coercion, and in accordance with international law.
According to the report, China's "nine-dash line" claims are preposterous, unfounded, unlawful, and unreasonable. These claims, which are without legal, historic, or geographic merit, impose real costs on other countries. Through repeated provocative actions to assert the nine-dash line, Beijing is inhibiting ASEAN members from accessing over 2.5 trillion USD in recoverable energy reserves, while contributing to regional instability and the risk of conflict.