US pledges nearly $300-M in security funding for Indo-Pacific region

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged on Saturday to provide nearly $300 million in new security funding for the IndoPacific region, 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 IndoPacific, 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 down payment 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 hot spots, such as the South China Sea, claimed in whole by China and in part by some Southeast Asian nations.

The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, told reporters at the same forum that China welcomed, and was willing to work with, the United States to help with faster development and better security in the region.

He added, however, that the United States had been sending “massive strategic weaponry” into the South China Sea and the region as a show of military might that puts pressure on China and other regional countries.

“That is the biggest force behind militarization in this region,” he said.