(ANSA) - GIACARTA, DEC 14 - The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, today invited China to stop its "attackers" in the Indo-Pacific region, on the occasion of its first tour in Southeast Asia.
"We are determined to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where Beijing's aggressive attackers threaten trade worth more than $ 3 trillion annually," the head of US diplomacy said in a speech at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta.
Blinken also reaffirmed Washington's attachment to "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait", more than ever at the center of tensions between the world's two largest economies.
The secretary of state, insisting on his desire to strengthen alliances with the states of the region, pledged to "protect the right of all countries to choose their own path, free from any pressure or intimidation".
(HANDLE).