US National Security Advisor Robert C. O’Brien attends 7th Asean-United States summit in Bangkok, Thailand November 4, 2019. — Reuters pic
BANGKOK, Nov 4 — A US envoy denounced Chinese "intimidation" in the South China Sea at a meeting of South-east Asian leaders today and invited them to a special summit in Washington on behalf of President Donald Trump.
China has made sweeping maritime claims in the resource-rich waters of the South China Sea, and angered neighbours by sending ships into the busy waterway, where several members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) also have claims.
“Beijing has used intimidation to try to stop Asean nations from exploiting the off-shore resources, blocking access to US$2.5 trillion (RM10.4 trillion) of oil and gas reserves alone,” US envoy Robert O'Brien told the Asean-US summit in a speech.
:The region has no interest in a new imperial era where a big country can rule others on a theory that might makes right,” added O'Brien, the White House national security adviser.
He also read a message from Trump inviting the AseanN leaders to "join me in the United States for a special summit, meeting at a time of mutual convenience in the first quarter of 2020."
Trump has skipped the Asean-US summit for the past two years, sending Vice President Mike Pence in 2018.
At this year's summit, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was the highest-ranking delegation official, prompting the 10-member Asean to downgrade the summit to a "troika" attended only by top leaders from Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. — Reuters
