US pledges US$55m for maritime security assistance in Indo-Pacific

The United States will provide US$55 million (RM232.2 million) to strengthen maritime law enforcement capacity of countries in the Indo-Pacific region, the US State Department said on Thursday, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

"The State Department is pleased to announce US$55 million in new funding for enhancing maritime law enforcement capacity of countries in the Indo-Pacific, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Pacific Islands, and maritime South Asian nations," the statement said.

The announcement follows Wednesday's ministerial meeting on "Reinforcing Cooperation to Achieve a Secure and Stable Maritime Domain" on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio co-hosted the discussion alongside his counterparts from Australia, Estonia, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Romania, and the UK, and other countries.

"The meeting convened over 35 countries to discuss maritime security issues of shared concern, including upholding the freedoms of navigation and overflight as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, safeguarding shared maritime interests, and greater cooperation on combating common maritime threats," the statement said.

Rubio underscored during the discussion the importance of collective efforts to advance a free and open South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in global trade flow annually, he added.

He also encouraged close coordination among countries to reinforce the freedoms of navigation and overflight and free flow of commerce globally, according to the statement.

- Bernama

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