Secretary Antony J. Blinken At a Press Availability

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good afternoon, everyone. Let me start by thanking Prime Minister Sonexay, Foreign Minister Saleumxay for their very warm hospitality and also for their terrific organization of ASEAN, with Laos in the lead over the past year.

But let me also start, more appropriately, with saying that, of course, our attention, our focus, our hearts are also with the many Americans across the southeastern United States who've been affected by, first, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. Many people in the region still recovering here from the typhoon last month, and we're thinking about them as well. But I think it only underscores our common humanity. We have so many people in this region who've been affected by the typhoon, so many people back home affected by the hurricanes. And there were many mutual expressions of sympathy and support between us today.

I've now taken 20 trips to the Indo-Pacific in this job, and I've gone to 8 of 10 ASEAN countries. I'm here in Laos because - as President Biden often says - so much of our future will be written in the Indo-Pacific.

Recognizing that reality, almost three years ago now, the United States set out an ambitious strategy to advance a shared vision for a free, open, prosperous, connected, secure, and resilient Indo-Pacific region. Today, because of a lot of diplomacy over these last three and a half years, the United States and our Indo-Pacific partners are closer and more aligned than ever - and that's certainly the case with ASEAN.

In 2022, President Biden pledged what he called a "new era" in U.S.-ASEAN relations. Together, we've elevated our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We've expanded our collaboration on longstanding priorities like economic issues and defense, but also launching many new initiatives in many new areas - from public health to clean energy to women's equality - reaffirming at every step the central role that ASEAN must play.

Here in Laos, our Comprehensive Partnership continues to deliver for our people: improving maternal and child health, supporting sustainable development, healing the wounds of war, investing in the potential of - and ties between - our people. That focus on the needs and on the aspirations of our combined one billion people is what animated our work today with the United States and ASEAN and at the East Asia Summit.

The remarkably robust economic ties between the United States and ASEAN, these have long been central to our relationship. The United States is ASEAN's number one provider of foreign direct investment, and that's - that's very meaningful, because what it tells you is there's tremendous trust and tremendous confidence in the future. People don't make investments if they don't have that confidence in the future. And it also is, of course, a tremendous generator of jobs and opportunity. We have more than 62 - excuse me, 6,200 American companies operating in the region, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs locally but also in all 50 states back in the United States.

In our meetings today, we committed not only to growing this partnership but to continue to modernize it. So for example, we're working to implement the ASEAN Single Window. This is a one-stop portal that will make regional trade faster, cheaper, more reliable. Already, we've got innovations - for example, innovations that make it easier to exchange customs forms and other documents electronically. That initiative alone has cut transaction times by four days and saved more than $6.5[1] billion.

With the ASEAN digital economy projected to top $2 trillion by 2030, we're equipping professionals, we're equipping students in the region with the skills that they need to succeed in this 21st century economy. For instance, we've created an online education platform that's enabled tens of thousands of students and people to complete courses, earn credentials in subjects like science, technology, entrepreneurship.

Recognizing the power of artificial intelligence to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals - ending poverty, eradicating hunger, bringing health care to more people - we've adopted today a U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Statement on AI, so that our countries together can help shape the development, the use, the governance of safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence.

And through a new five-year compact, a partnership between ASEAN and the U.S. Agency for International Development, we're helping to empower ASEAN to identify areas where the region could use more capacity - for example, planning infrastructure projects - so that we can ensure that we're meeting the region's most pressing needs. One of the things that I've heard from our colleagues is the importance of focusing on skills - on re-skilling, on up-skilling, on helping to build human capacity as well as practical - infrastructure and technological capacity.

Fundamentally, that underscores the point that the foundation of the partnership between the United States and ASEAN is our people. This year marks a decade of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. I remember being there at the founding during President Obama's administration. We now have a remarkable partnership that involves over 160,000 young people.

So to sustain that momentum, we're doubling the YSEALI program as well as the number of ASEAN Fulbright students who'll be studying in the United States. We've established already an ASEAN Center in Washington to help foster greater economic and cultural ties between our nations.

We're also working to unleash the potential of all our people. Building on last year's first-ever ASEAN high-level dialogue on disability rights, we're working to make ASEAN's economy and infrastructure more accessible, more inclusive for people with disabilities.

All of these investments - in our economies, in our health systems, in our infrastructure, in climate, in people - all of these investments are good for people in ASEAN countries and for Americans back home: creating jobs, powering innovation, addressing challenges that we can only effectively meet when we're working together.

Now, that's also true when it comes to regional and global issues of shared concern. We continue to underscore the importance of upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in the South and East China Seas, as well as the need to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

We're intensifying our efforts to chart a more peaceful, inclusive, democratic future for Myanmar and address the DPRK's dangerous and destabilizing behavior. We're standing for the sovereignty, the independence, the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the ability of people everywhere to chart their own course, to choose their own future free from force, coercion, aggression.

We also discussed the conflict in the Middle East. This week marked one year since the horrific October 7th attack on Israel, where, among other things, citizens of ASEAN nations were among the hundreds brutally killed or captured by Hamas, including six Thai citizens who remain hostages to this day. We continue to engage intensely to prevent broader conflict in the region, to bring all the hostages home, to get assistance to Gazans who so desperately need it and end the conflict, to reach a diplomatic solution in Lebanon, to support Israel's right to defend itself against Iran and its terrorist proxies, to find a path to halt the cycle of violence and move toward a more integrated and prosperous Middle East.

I'd also note that, even as the United States and our Indo-Pacific partners have drawn closer together these past three and a half years, we've also worked to deepen the connections between partners in this region and partners around the globe - particularly in Europe. ASEAN and the EU held their first-ever summit in 2022, and they've expanded cooperation on everything from cyber security to counterterrorism to climate change, reinforcing our own efforts in these areas.

This increasing collaboration across regions reflects the fact that our fates are intertwined. Making life better for our people requires us to coordinate in novel ways, to build new coalitions, to reinvigorate and reimagine existing partnerships. Today's meeting again showed the power and possibility of those partnerships, and I'm grateful to all of our ASEAN friends for their continued efforts to advance a common vision for the region and for our shared future. Thank you.

MR PATEL: We will take four questions. We'll start with Alex Aliyev from Turan News.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. Mr. Secretary, good to see you. I have multi-parter, if you don't mind. I want to start with Russia's -

SECRETARY BLINKEN: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: Please - (laughter) - I want to start with Russia's Lavrov, because we saw you in the same room at the same event this morning. We were curious if you had any direct interaction with him during your engagements here. And if I may, Mr. Secretary, I would also appreciate your thoughts on the latest reporting from home suggesting that former President Trump had as many as seven private calls with Putin since leaving office. And I know you have made it clear you do policy; you don't do politics. With that in mind, Mr. Secretary, I was wondering if Putin getting phone calls from former U.S. president undermines your policy of isolating Putin due to his brutal war in Ukraine.

And now if I can also pivot to Taiwan on behalf of my colleagues, because as you know, China has intensified its military threat on Taiwan during Taiwan's celebration of its national day. What is the U.S. message, Mr. Secretary, to China ahead of expected talks between the leaders of two countries? Should the routine political event, you think, as a - could be as a pretext for China's increasing military activities near Taiwan? And how important is it, in your opinion, to - for China to maintain the status quo of Taiwan, Taiwan Strait, as an international waterway? Thanks so much, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. With regard to Minister Lavrov, no, we didn't speak directly, but I was in the room when he made his intervention on behalf of Russia. He was in the room when I made my intervention on behalf of the United States. So I think it's safe to say that we heard each other. I didn't hear anything new, unfortunately, about the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine.

I think country after country in the room, without speaking for them, made clear that this aggression needs to end, and needs to end not only because it's an aggression against the Ukrainian people - it's an aggression against the principles that are at the heart of the international system and that are so necessary to try to help us preserve peace and stability, including respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence.

It's striking that so many countries that are half a world away in the Indo-Pacific care deeply about what's going on in Ukraine, and the reason, again, is because they know that if any country is allowed to act with impunity and to commit acts of aggression, that's a signal to would-be aggressors everywhere that it's open season. And that's going to be bad for everyone. So again, I listened to him. Can't speak to whether he listened to me, but I didn't hear anything new.

With regard to the calls you mentioned, the - all I can tell you is this. The administration was not aware of any purported calls, and so I really can't either confirm or comment on it.

On Taiwan, what was also striking, again, is - almost across the board - the strong desire for all of the ASEAN countries - and this extends well beyond ASEAN, but the countries in the room - to see that peace and stability is maintained across the Taiwan Strait. And I can tell you that with regard to the so-called 10/10 speech, which is a regular exercise, China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions. On the contrary, we want to reinforce - and many other countries want to reinforce - the imperative of preserving the status quo and neither party taking any actions that might undermine it.

And again, this goes to something that's very powerfully felt across the region. It goes to the importance of preserving peace and stability in general, but it also goes to something that I think affects the lives, the livelihoods, and the future of every country in the region and arguably every country in the world. Fifty percent of commercial container traffic goes through the Taiwan Strait every day. More than 70 percent of the high-end semiconductors that the world needs are produced on Taiwan. So there's a strong interest around the world on maintaining peace and stability, preserving the status quo, avoiding any kind of conflict that could disrupt things that are so essential to the global economy.

MR PATEL: We'll next go to Souksakhone from - Vientiane Times.

QUESTION: Welcome to Laos, Mr. Secretary. I hope you enjoyed your stay (inaudible).

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.

QUESTION: I am Souksakhone of Vientiane Times, representing our Lao media team. You briefly touch on growing relationships between Lao and U.S. actors. The Comprehensive Partnership has been established for almost 10 years. And I'm curious, please share with share with us: What significant impact has this upgraded comprehensive - has produced so far? And how do you - how do you see it's going forward in the next decade? And then you also briefly mentioned about UXO. UXO (inaudible) big problems in Laos, as leaders convene their summits here in Vientiane. A person was injured just this this week from the UXO explosion - students' playgrounds remain unsafe. And President Obama pledged to do more and he pledged funding to solve UXO. So what has been done to fulfill this promise? Are you comfortable to reassure U.S. commitment to help Lao address UXO (inaudible) unwavering priority to the U.S.-Laos partnership? Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much. So our countries have been partners for some time, but I think, to your point, the Comprehensive Partnership that we established in 2016, that guides the relationship. And what we're doing is constantly working to update and strengthen it and make sure that it's addressing the needs of people. That's our responsibility. So for example, one of the things that we've talked about is doing even more work together on helping to build human capacity here in Laos, helping ensure especially young people have the skills that they need to be successful in the economy and in an increasingly global economy. And so the work that we'll do through the partnership on things like up-skilling, re-skilling as necessary, I think, is something that will be increasingly central.

We always have to come back to this question of how is what we're doing together benefiting our people. How is it producing tangible results? And of course, it is in a number of areas, and I described some of them a few minutes ago. But this focus on really developing capacity is, I think, something you'll see increasingly. And of course, the exchanges that we're doing is another way of getting at that.

In terms of the unexploded ordnance, this is an ongoing imperative and something that we're deeply committed to. We've provided nearly $400 million over the years in order to help deal with the unexploded ordnance. That's enabled us to remove more of it, and certainly over that period of time it's meant that fewer people have been injured. But this is an ongoing necessity and an ongoing responsibility that we take very seriously. Thank you.

MR PATEL: Go to Julia Jester from NBC News.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. You mentioned in your opening remarks that the conflict in the Middle East came up here at ASEAN. Some of the leaders have been critical about U.S. stance with regard to Israel and Gaza. What were some of the criticisms that you heard from leaders, and what did you tell them to perhaps reassure them of just progress for a ceasefire? And on Lebanon, the latest there, Netanyahu is putting pressure on the citizens of Lebanon to choose a new leader, threatening them with Gaza-like, quote, "destruction and suffering" if they do not put Hizballah out of power. Do you believe the onus is on the Lebanese people to overthrow the terrorist group? And if not, would the U.S. support Israel in taking actions in parallel to what they've done in Gaza?

And if I may, on Gaza, the Biden administration has said the U.S. is having, quote, "urgent" conversations with Israel to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza, specifically northern Gaza. Is the U.S. willing, in compliance With the Leahy law, to put restrictions on U.S. military aid to Israel if the U.S. determines that Israel is in fact blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. So I don't want to speak for other countries except to say that, yes, we - and as I mentioned, the overall situation in the Middle East as well as specific pieces of it came up in many of the conversations that we had. And I think there's deep concern across the region on a number of fronts, but primarily something that we're deeply concerned with, which is trying to prevent the conflict in Gaza that started with the horrific attacks of October 7th from spreading, from going to other places and other fronts.

And one of the things that I reassured many of our colleagues about was the intense focus of the United States, which has been the case going back a year, in doing just that: preventing these conflicts from spreading. And we're working on that every day, whether it's with regard to Lebanon, whether it's regard to Israel and Iran, the Houthis, the various actors.

Unfortunately, what we have is, among other things, a so-called axis of resistance led by Iran that looks to create other fronts in different places. We're working very hard through deterrence and through diplomacy to prevent that from happening.

There's also obviously deep concern that we share about the plight of children, women, and men in Gaza who for now a year have been caught in the terrible crossfire of Hamas's instigation. And for us this has been a constant area of emphasis, trying to make sure that they're getting the assistance that they desperately need, and we're intensely focused on that question now. And I have real concern about the inadequacy of the assistance that's getting to them. This is particularly true in the north but not exclusively in the north. So we've been very directly engaged with Israel on the imperative of addressing the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza.

And when it comes to the law, I'll simply repeat what I've said all along: We will apply the law. I have a continuous obligation to ensure that assistance we're providing is done in accordance with the law - whether it's the Leahy law, whether it's international humanitarian law, whether it's other things that we're responsible for. And I've also made clear and we've made clear that that's an ongoing responsibility and one that I take very seriously.

Finally, with regard to Lebanon. Look, one of the main challenges that we've seen in Lebanon is the fact that Hizballah effectively has taken over many state functions, and in particular in holding on to its arms, which is not supposed to be the case. Remember: Israel was in southern Lebanon for a long time - 18 years - and it got out in 2000. And part of getting Israel out of Lebanon were important understandings that are in UN Security Council resolutions - 1701, 1559 - that, among other things, would make sure that forces are not up at the border between the country - certainly not irregular forces like Hizballah - and non-state actors are supposed to be disarmed. Well, that didn't happen, and Hizballah has posed an ongoing threat to Israel ever since.

When the horror of October 7th happened, the next day Hizballah joined in, trying to create another front. In the process, the rockets and other munitions that they were launching into northern Israel forced people to flee from their homes, and some 70,000 Israelis have had to leave their homes.

Similarly, in southern Lebanon - because Israel responded to these attacks from Hizballah - you have many people who had to leave their homes. This is well before the last few weeks; this is what happened over the last year. And we all have a strong interest in trying to help create an environment in which people can go back to their homes and live there safely and securely, and kids can go back to school.

So Israel has a clear and very legitimate interest in doing that. The people of Lebanon want the same thing. We believe that the best way to get there is through a diplomatic understanding, one that we've been working on for some time and one that we're extremely focused on right now.

Now, Israel has a right to defend itself against terror attacks coming from Hizballah, from Hamas, from anyone else. But it's also vitally important that in doing that, they focus on making sure that civilians are protected and, again, are not being caught in a terrible crossfire. So that's another area of concern.

When it comes to Lebanon's future, this is for the Lebanese people to decide, not for any - anyone else - not for any outside actor, whether it's the United States, Israel, or any of the many actors in the region. But it's clear that the people of Lebanon have an interest, a strong interest, in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future. The presidency has been vacant for two years now, and for the Lebanese people, having a head of state would be very important. But that's for the Lebanese to decide and no one else.

We've been engaged in conversations, I've been engaged in conversations with countries throughout the region and with the Lebanese themselves. And what I'm getting from these conversations is a strong desire not only on the part of the many countries that are concerned about Lebanon, but especially the Lebanese themselves to actually see the state stand up, assert itself, take responsibility for the lives of its citizens. And again, one way to do that would be by resolving the issue of the vacant presidency, but there are a number of other things that I know the Lebanese are focused on that can make a real difference.

But it's front - it's their - it's up to them. It's their country; it's their future. The United States, many other countries want to help. We provided almost $160 million in additional humanitarian assistance to try to help the many displaced people, and many of the displaced are from the Shia community. We want to make sure that their needs are addressed. Similarly, we've long been a supporter of the one institution that unites pretty much every Lebanese, and that's the Lebanese Armed Forces - and many other countries as well.

So I think there are a number of things that others can do to support the Lebanese state standing up and taking responsibility for the people and for the future of the country, but the fundamental decisions about how that gets done, those decisions belong to the Lebanese people.

QUESTION: Would the U.S. support Israel -

MR PATEL: Final question -

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I'm sorry, what was the -

QUESTION: Would the U.S. support Israel if Netanyahu followed through on that threat that the Lebanese people would face death and destruction - destruction like -

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. I can just say we're focused on resolving the border situation diplomatically and supporting whatever the Lebanese choose to do in terms of the state asserting its responsibilities.

MR PATEL: Final question, Tan Tam Mei from The Straits Times.

QUESTION: What will future - so okay, sorry. Future policy for ASEAN under the incoming possible presidential candidates is still looking a bit blur and muddy. So I was wondering for ASEAN, what can we expect for U.S.-ASEAN relations to look like in January? And also, what concerns have the ASEAN leaders shared with you about any new changes?

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Look, I can't - as I - as many of you know, as I like to say, I don't do politics, I do policy. So all I can really speak to is the policies of the United States and how we're pursuing those policies now. Any speculation about the future is just that - speculation - except for this. I think there's a profound understanding in the United States that, as I said and as President Biden has said, our future is in the Indo-Pacific. We're a Pacific power ourselves, but as we look at the part of the world where there is such extraordinary growth, extraordinary energy, extraordinary innovation, it's in the Indo-Pacific. And everything that we've done over the last three and a half years has been to strengthen our ties, deepen our engagement, build new partnerships in a whole variety of ways - both with individual countries but also with critical institutions like ASEAN.

I mentioned that this is my 20th trip to the Indo-Pacific as Secretary of State. So yeah, there's - there are a lot of other things going on out there - in the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine - but that's just one small piece of evidence that even with everything else going on, our focus has remained intensely on this region. And again, it's because it's so critical to our own future - to the lives and livelihoods of Americans.

So given that, it's my belief that that basic approach will continue irrespective of who's president, because it's so manifestly in our interests. And I think there's strong support in Congress for our engagement in the region across parties and across both houses of Congress, and I don't see that changing.

So as long as we remain resolutely focused on the interests of our people, those interests bring us, call on us, to continue to do even more not just with ASEAN and the countries that make up ASEAN, but throughout the Indo-Pacific. And I really strongly believe that that's a matter of bipartisan consensus and something that's not going to change.

Thank you.

MR PATEL: Thanks, everybody.

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