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Published on 08-10-2019 11:59 PM
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus provides Information in August 8, 2019 Briefing | site |
Washington, DC - - (August 8, 2019) - - Today (August 8, 2019), the U.S. Department of State published the following transcript of information provided in a briefing (in the Press Room) by Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:
Okay, let’s get going. I’d like to turn to Secretary Pompeo’s recent trip to Asia, which is a very successful effort that underscored the United States firm commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region. This trip allowed the Secretary to personally reinforce America’s support for our allies and partners in the region, as well as our commitment to effective, meaningful multilateralism.
In Bangkok, the Secretary participated in the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial, the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial, the East Asia Summit Ministerial, and the Lower Mekong Initiative, which has just celebrated the tenth anniversary. The Secretary held very positive bilateral meetings with a variety of his counterparts, including leaders from Thailand, the Philippines, China, and India. He also participated in a trilateral meeting with foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea as well as a trilateral meeting with Australia and Japan, after which those three nations released a statement expressing serious concerns about negative developments in the South China Sea.
Our diplomacy within ASEAN nations has been consistently guided by our desire for partnership, our respect for sovereignty, and a shared commitment to the rule of law, human rights, and sustainable economic growth – all points the Secretary reiterated in his speech at the Siam Society in Bangkok, which I’d encourage everyone to read.
In Sydney, the Secretary underscored our ironclad commitment to Australia, an unbreakable alliance based on shared democratic values and overlapping strategic interests. Secretary Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Esper led the U.S. delegation to AUSMIN, the Australian-U.S. Ministerial consultations, and discussed shared priorities – our work to achieve our shared vision for a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific; the denuclearization of North Korea; freedom of navigation and global shipping and air lanes; the eradication of ISIS and other terrorist groups; and the campaign to counter foreign interference in our elections.
And finally, in Micronesia, Secretary Pompeo was warmly welcomed and became the first secretary of state to visit to the Federated States of Micronesia, where he stressed the importance of our decades-old partnership with the freely associated states and our continued support for the security, economic development, and prosperity of the region. Secretary Pompeo announced the United States’ intent to begin negotiating amendments to certain provisions of the Compacts of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and our intent to begin the compact review discussions with Palau.
Next I’d like to go – it has been 11 years since Russia’s military invasion of Georgia, when hundreds were killed or injured and over 190,000 civilians were displaced. For many, the impact of the conflict continues. Livelihoods remain destroyed; families remain separated; freedom of movement has not been restored; and property has not been returned. Within the last 24 hours, we received reports that Russian-backed de facto authorities have started the process of borderization at a village near a South Ossetia administrative boundary line. If completed, this action would cut the village off from its irrigation system. These actions are a threat to peace and stability.
As today’s actions show,
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