Previewing Secretary Pompeo's
Upcoming Trip to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Jakarta
Special Briefing
Senior State Department Official
Via Teleconference
July 31, 2018
MODERATOR: Thank you very much, and good morning everyone. Thank you for
joining us for today’s background call on Secretary Pompeo’s upcoming trip
to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Jakarta. We’re pleased that we are joined today
by [Senior State Department Official]. For purposes of this call, he will be
referred to as a senior State Department official. As a reminder, today’s call
is on background and will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call.
So with that, I’m happy to turn it over to
our senior State Department official for some brief opening remarks, and then
we’ll take your questions. Sir.
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Good morning.
Delighted to talk to you all about Secretary Pompeo’s imminent travel to
Southeast Asia. He is going out to the region this week for a series of
bilateral and multilateral meetings to advance the security of theUnited States and
the region, underscore our support for the rules-based order, reaffirm our
commitment to friends and allies, and demonstrate our robust engagement in the
Indo-Pacific region.
Yesterday, the Secretary gave a speech at
the Indo-Pacific Business Forum right here in Washington laying out the
administration’s economic vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific rooted in
respect for sovereignty, the rule of law, and sustainable prosperity.
SecretaryPompeo will echo those themes while on this trip.
A key destination for the trip is
Singapore. Singapore is the 2018 chair of ASEAN, and in that capacity plays a
convening role for four separate multilateral gatherings, annual gatherings,
that Secretary Pompeo will attend with his foreign minister
counterparts from across the Indo-Pacific.
First, the Secretary himself chairs the
Lower Mekong Initiative Ministerial Meeting, at which he will reinforce our
partnership on transboundary cooperation with the five Lower Mekong partner
countries. These include Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The
discussions include many topics, as well as water resource management, which is
quite timely, given the recent dam tragedy in Laos and severe flooding in
Burma. And we, of course, offer our condolences to the peoples of both of those
countries.
Next, in a ministerial meeting with the 10
member-states of ASEAN, Secretary Pompeo will co-chair a meeting and
underscore the importance of our strategic partnership with ASEAN, highlight
our commitment to this entity and ASEAN centrality, and address various
regional security and partnership economics.
Next, in the East Asia Summit, or EAS
ministerial, Secretary Pompeo will meet his 17 counterparts to
address the region’s most critical security challenges, including the
denuclearization of the DPRK, the contested South China Sea, terrorism,
maritime and cyber security, and the crisis in Rakhine State, among other
topics. Both this U.S.-ASEAN meeting and the EAS meeting help advance
respective summits at the leaders level that will take place in Singapore in
November.
Finally, at the ASEAN Regional Forum,
Secretary Pompeo will work with his 26 counterparts from across the
region to establish practical cooperation to address nontraditional security
threats, including cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
Also quite timely, given several natural disasters recently in Southeast Asia.
During the period of August 3rd through
the 4th – Friday and Saturday in Singapore – Secretary Pompeo will
also have the opportunity to meet with his hosts, Singaporean Prime Minister
Lee and Foreign Minister Balakrishnan, to reinforce our bilateral strategic
partnership and discuss shared security and economic priorities, including our
longstanding cooperation to build capacity across the sub-region.
On his way to Singapore,
Secretary Pompeo will stop in Malaysia to meet on August 3rd with
Prime Minister Mahathir, following his historic election and a peaceful
transition of authorities in Malaysia recently. This will bolster our
comprehensive partnership with Malaysia on many shared interests, including
trade and counterterrorism.
On the return trip,
Secretary Pompeo will stop in Indonesia to meet with President Jokowi
and Foreign Minister Retno to reaffirm our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
and our multidimensional bilateral relationship with the world’s third-largest
democracy. Indonesia also assumes a role on the UN Security
Council in January 2019, and we look forward to discussing mutual
interests in theUnited Nations while in Jakarta.
With that, I would be delighted to take
questions.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We’ll go to our first question now.
OPERATOR: Thank you. And just a reminder, if you wish to ask a question,
please press * then 1. And our first question comes from the line of Matthew
Lee with Associated Press. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Hi there. Thank you. I’ve got two very brief ones. One is that
ever since the President’s comments yesterday about he’s willing to speak with
the Iranians and the Secretary’s meeting with the Omani foreign
minister, whose country has been a liaison or a facilitator of
U.S.-Iran talks in the past, and the fact I guess also
that Zarif is going to be in Singapore, is expected to be there, any
plans for a meeting there? And secondly, other than the talk of the East Asia
ministerial on North Korea, are there any – is there any North
Korea component to this trip that you have not discussed yet? Thank you.
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you,
Matt. Iran is not a member of any of the multilateral gatherings that
I have described, so there are no plans for any engagement
with Iran. Related issues, of course – terrorism and proliferation –
will be discussed at several of these meetings.
As for the DPRK, DPRK North
Korea is, in fact, a member of the ASEAN Regional Forum. That gathers 27
countries, so they’ll be in the room, and there will certainly be discussions
about denuclearization of North Korea, as there traditionally are at these
gatherings. Thank you.
MODERATOR: Thank you. And go on to the next question, please.
OPERATOR: Thank you. And our next question comes from the line of John
Hudson with Washington Post. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Hi. Thanks for doing the call. As you know, the ASEAN Regional
Forum has sort of historically – not since 10 years – starting in 2000, it’s
been a forum to meet – have ministerial meetings with the U.S. and
the North Korean foreign minister. I think it’s happened four times since 2000.
Is the U.S. seeking a meeting with the North Korean foreign minister?
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you, John. As
I noted, the DPRK is a member of this grouping, the ASEAN Regional Forum, which
is terminal at the ministerial level, if you will. There are activities
throughout the year, workshops, work streams and the like, and it culminates
with this ministerial in Singapore. So DPRK will be in the room for that
meeting, but I think it’s a good opportunity for me to emphasize that our goal
vis-a-vis North Korea remains the same, and that is to achieve the
final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, as agreed to by Chairman
Kim in Singapore just a short few weeks back. And our policy from before the
Singapore summit remains the policy after the Singapore summit. The only difference
is that the chairman has committed to our mutual goal.
So with all of these countries in the room
– they all are also members of the United Nations and have an
obligation to implement UN Security Council sanctions. So there will
be reminders of those obligations for those participants. Beyond that, I have
nothing more to announce about any bilateral meetings there in Singapore. My
focus today is on the four multilateral gatherings.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We’ll go to the next question, please.
OPERATOR: Thank you. And as a reminder, please press * then 1 for any
questions or comments. And our next question goes to the line of Lesley
Wroughton with Reuters. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Yes, hi. Let me try this again. So we know that Iran is
not part of ASEAN or anything but what about a meeting on the sidelines or
something informal? That would be number one, because that would be the natural
question, is: Would there be just a meeting, an informal meeting on the
sidelines? The other one was when you – when – on China and trade, are there
any decisions to meet with the Chinese officials to discuss the trade dispute
between the U.S. and Beijing? And then while we’re about it, there
are reports that the Secretary could be meeting with the Turkish foreign
minister in Singapore, not part of ASEAN but on the sidelines. Can you confirm
that?
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think it’d be
helpful to describe generally in terms of who’s there in Singapore. The
official meetings culminate in the largest gathering, the ASEAN Regional Forum,
which includes 27 countries. Any other senior officials in town would be there
as guests of the chair for other business. So I don’t have any information to
offer today on bilateral meetings, but some of the countries you cited are not
part of those gatherings and so there are no plans to engage them.
With regards to any trade issues, in the
context of the East Asia Summit, the U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial, and the ASEAN
Regional Forum, there are certainly discussions about various countries’
desires to see a region that is transparent, where trade is free and fair, and
all countries have respected sovereignty and foreign policies. That’s the core
of our Indo-Pacific strategy. So in that regard, certainly Secretary Pompeo will
be underscoring the importance of these economic and commercial elements. But
the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit are also important gatherings
to talk about security matters, and that tends to be quite prominent at those
gatherings.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We’ll go to the next question now.
OPERATOR: Thank you, and our next question comes from the line of Nick Wadhams
with Bloomberg News. Please go ahead.
QUESTION: Hi, [Senior State Department Official], thanks very much. Can you
talk about whether the Secretary is concerned by this finding that North
Korea may be working on new ballistic missiles, ICBMs, in a research
facility in the country, and if that’s something he would raise?
And then just to try to put one more point
on it, you mentioned with Iran there are no plans for any engagement
with Iran at this summit, but on the issue of North Korea, so
you had nothing to announce about a bilateral meeting. So are you not ruling
out the possibility of a bilateral with North Korea’s foreign minister?
Thanks.
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you, Nick.
First, on any reports that you’ve referred to in the press recently about
missile technology and pursuits, I don’t have any comment, in particular no
comment on matters of intelligence.
With regards to the potential encounters
in Singapore, let me make a distinction. The DPRK is in the room as a member of
the ASEAN Regional Forum among these 27 countries. So there will be discussions
that are inclusive of North Korea. Iran is not a member of any
of these four gatherings that I’ve described today. So I am in a position to
say there are no plans for engagement with Iran.
With regards to potential encounters,
pull-asides, bilateral meetings, all of those are possible with members of the
ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit, the U.S.-ASEAN gathering. I don’t
have any announcements today, but it’s natural to get a lot of business done,
and there are chance encounters, there are sometimes planned encounters, but
we’re not there yet for any announcements.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We’ll go on to the next question.
OPERATOR: And our last question comes from the line of Abigail Williams with
NBC News. Please, go ahead.
QUESTION: Yes, thanks so much. My question was actually asked, but following
up on my colleague’s question, do you have specific concerns
regarding North Korea? A lot of different reports have been coming out
about violations, the transferring of fuel, the missile facility. Are there
specific concerns that you hope to address with the ASEAN counterparts
regarding North Korea while you’re there?
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Thank you, Abigail.
I think it’s a good opportunity to reiterate, from our perspective, all UN
member states are required to implement UN Security
Council sanctions, resolutions, and we expect them all to continue doing
so. I think that will be a point that will be addressed during these gatherings
as we all strive for the ultimate goal, and that is the final, fully verified denuclearization
of the DPRK, as agreed to by Chairman Kim.
With regards to some of the concerns that
you’ve raised, we too remain concerned about the scale of North Korea’s
illicit procurement, in particular of refined petroleum products via
UN-prohibited ship-to-ship transfers. And we use these meetings as
opportunities to remind all countries of their obligations and adherence
of UN Security Council resolutions. These gatherings that will take
place in Singapore are a very good opportunity to do that, and we will plan to
do so. Secretary Pompeo will plan to do so.
MODERATOR: All right, thank you very much. Thank you all for joining us today.
As a reminder, this call is on background. We will refer to our speaker as a
senior State Department official. One more thing? Sorry.
SENIOR
STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Just in conclusion,
[Moderator], if I could, I want to remind our journalists who are participating
today this is not the first time for Secretary Pompeo to travel to
Southeast Asia as Secretary of State. He’s been to Singapore with the President
and to Vietnam as Secretary of State recently. But this trip comprises three
countries, very important partners, and I’ve already underscored the strategic
opportunities presented by the multilateral gathering.
So we really look forward to all of these
meetings to advance our Indo-Pacific strategy and recommit to the importance of
regional cooperation. There’s a lot of multilateral structure in the region.
These ASEAN-centered meetings are particularly important. There’s more of
course – APEC and other institutions – but they are the cornerstone of a free
and open region. So we’ll be working with our partners bilaterally and
multilaterally to create an Indo-Pacific that is secure, peaceful, and
prosperous. Thank you.
MODERATOR: Thank you, sir, and thank you all for joining us. Again, this call
is on background, and we will refer to our speaker as a senior State Department
official. The embargo is now lifted. We wish you a wonderful afternoon. Thank
you.
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