Mike Pompeo has pledged that the United States will provide nearly $300m in new security funding for south-east Asia, as China forges ahead with plans to bolster its engagement in the region.



The US secretary of state unveiled the figure to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other officials from around the world in Singapore.

He also spoke about the humanitarian in crisis in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state and called for the release of two journalists.

“As part of our commitment to advancing regional security in the Indo-Pacific, the United States is excited to announce nearly $300m in new funding to reinforce security cooperation throughout the entire region,” he said.

The new security assistance will strengthen maritime security, develop humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping capabilities and counter “transnational threats”, he added.

The US said earlier this week it would invest $113m in technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives in emerging Asia which he called “a downpayment on a new era of US economic commitment to the region”.

The renewed US vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” comes at the same time as China ramps up its influence as part of is Belt and Road plan to bolster trade ties with nations in south-east Asia and beyond.

Analysts have said that a spiralling trade dispute between Beijing and Washington could also ratchet up tensions over other regional hotspot issues, such as the South China Sea, claimed in whole by China and in part by some south-east Asian nations.

China and the Asean bloc on Thursday hailed a “milestone” agreement on a single working text to kick off what could be protracted negotiations towards a code of conduct for behaviour in the disputed waters.

But critics have said this enthusiasm for talks is a means for China to buy time and solidify its position during a period of relative dominance in the region.

Pompeo told reporters he had raised concerns at the meeting about Chinese militarisation of the South China Sea and the importance of maintaining a rules-based order in the region.

Progress towards resolving the continuing humanitarian in crisis in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state and other security issues were also essential to a free and open Indo-Pacific, he said.

Pompeo also said in a tweet that he raised US concerns about the two reporters “detained in Burma for doing their job” during a meeting with Myanmar’s foreign minister Kyaw Tin on the sidelines of a regional gathering in Singapore. “They should be released immediately,” Pompeo tweeted.

Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and said they were framed by police, apparently because of their reporting on the brutal crackdown by security forces on minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. About 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh after the crackdown began last August. They face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report