LAOS – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the United States is “working diligently every day” to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and find a path to lasting peace and security.
This came in Blinken’s statements during a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Laos.
His comments came after his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, said a lasting peace must be reached urgently and international law must apply to all. The comment by the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation was an indirect reference to recent rulings by two international courts on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Marsudi added.
ASEAN expressed concern in a joint statement on Saturday over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the “horrific number” of deaths there.
The health authorities in Gaza said that the Israeli attacks on the Strip resulted in the deaths of more than 39,000 Palestinians. The figures of the Palestinian health authorities do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
Israeli officials estimate that about 14,000 fighters from armed groups, including Palestinian faction movements, were killed or captured, out of a force they estimated at more than 25,000 fighters at the start of the war.
The war broke out after the factions launched an attack on October 7 on Israel, which it says killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
ASEAN foreign ministers also condemned the violence against civilians in military-ruled Myanmar, and urged all parties to end hostilities and implement an agreed peace plan.
In the joint statement issued after two days of closed-door meetings, the group also welcomed unspecified practical measures aimed at calming tensions in the South China Sea and preventing accidents and miscalculations.
Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the summit, their sixth meeting since June 2023, when Blinken’s visit to Beijing marked an improvement in tense relations between the world’s two largest economies.
A senior State Department official said Blinken discussed the situation in Taiwan with Wang and expressed concern about China’s recent “provocative actions,” including a simulated blockade of Taiwan during the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen.
The official added that the two ministers agreed to continue the progress made in military relations, noting that Blinken also discussed Beijing’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base and warned of further action by his country against Chinese companies, but he did not receive any commitment from Wang.
Wang told Blinken that although China and the United States continue to communicate, Washington has not stopped and has even intensified its restrictions and suppression of Beijing.
“The risks facing China-US relations continue to accumulate, challenges are increasing, and relations are at a critical stage,” Wang was quoted as saying by China’s foreign ministry in a statement.
Reuters
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2024-07-28 22:56:03