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WASHINGTON, July 29, 2024 (PTI) – Washington’s alliances with the Indo-Pacific region are already set and will not change no matter who is elected president in November, a US State Department official said.
“I’ve never seen such a strong signal for U.S. engagement in the region,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
“We believe we have reached that point and we will continue to do so.”
Four years into the Biden administration, the United States has stepped up its engagement with Asian allies and Pacific island nations while competing with China for regional influence.
Biden will host Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the White House for the 2022 and 2023 US-Pacific Summits.
“We are incredibly proud of what this administration has accomplished, the commitment we have demonstrated to the region — particularly to our allies, partners and friends — the commitment to the region’s institutional architecture, and the unprecedented upgrade in our investments in the region and our relationships with our partners in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands,” he said.
Kritenbrink noted that there has been “strong bipartisan” support in Congress for the U.S.’s allies and partners and its approach in the region.
In the November presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump will face off against Kamala Harris, who took over as the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
While Biden has publicly stated that he would support Taiwan if China invaded the island, Trump’s attitude was less friendly.
He said Taiwan should pay the United States for protection against attacks from China and questioned whether Washington would support Taiwan’s democratic system if he were returned to the White House in the November presidential election.
At the same time, Kritenbrink assured allies that the United States will “continue to do everything possible to demonstrate this commitment in the coming months.”
However, Kritenbrink declined to comment on the president’s remarks during the campaign.
“But we do try to assure allies and partners that I think certain fundamental principles of U.S. engagement do not change, have always remained the same, like $2 trillion a year in U.S. trade with the region, $1 trillion in U.S. investment in the region and nearly $1 trillion in regional investment,” he said.
“The tremendous success of the past four years also points to some of the constants and enduring elements of American engagement in the region that I think will be the basis for much of our conversation over the coming week,” he added… PACNEWS
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