Reinforcing Cooperation to Achieve a Secure and Stable Maritime Domain

On September 24, Secretary Rubio co-hosted a ministerial assembly on “Reinforcing Cooperation to Achieve a Secure and Stable Maritime Domain,” alongside his counterparts from Australia, Estonia, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Romania, and the UK, amongst others.

The assembly convened over 35 international locations to debate maritime safety problems with shared concern, together with upholding the freedoms of navigation and overflight as mirrored within the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, safeguarding shared maritime pursuits, and better cooperation on combatting widespread maritime threats.

The Secretary raised the significance of collective efforts to advance a free and open South China Sea, via which trillions of {dollars} in world commerce circulation yearly. The Secretary additional highlighted China’s expansive and illegal maritime claims within the South China Sea and the destabilizing methods it makes an attempt to implement them.

Participants additionally mentioned a variety of maritime safety threats that put delivery lanes and significant undersea infrastructure in danger.

Secretary Rubio inspired shut coordination amongst international locations to strengthen the freedoms of navigation and overflight and free circulation of commerce globally. The ministerial demonstrates the rising diplomatic coalition of nations which share the United States’ curiosity in strengthening maritime safety and preserving important excessive seas freedoms from which all nations profit.

As such, the U.S. Department of State is happy to announce $55 million in new funding for enhancing maritime legislation enforcement capability of nations within the Indo-Pacific, together with Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Pacific Islands, and maritime South Asian nations. This funding will allow these companions to counter illicit maritime actions, train their sovereign rights, and interdict illicit fishing and maritime trafficking operations.

The United States has contributed over $1.5 billion in maritime safety help to the Indo-Pacific since 2017. See the U.S. Commitment to Maritime Security Fact Sheet for a extra detailed abstract of this help.