In short, the region’s shared principles are upheld by countries coming together of their own accord to support regional security and stability.
This approach is in keeping with America’s long history of working together with allies and partners in this region to defend a rules－based order in the Indo－Pacific. Many of us stood together against imperialism, fascism, and Soviet domination in decades past.
In many of these instances, China stood with us as a cooperative partner in pursuit of shared goals. I say now that China could still have a cooperative relationship with the United States. It is in China’s interests to do so：no country has benefitted more from the regional and global order than China, which has seen hundreds of millions lifted from poverty to increasing prosperity.
We cooperate with China where we have an alignment of interests, from military－to－military dialogue to develop risk reduction measures, to tackling transnational threats such as counter－ piracy, to enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea.
And we compete with China where we must. But competition does not mean conflict. Competition is not to be feared. We should welcome it, provided that everyone plays by internationally established rules.
China can and should have a cooperative relationship with the rest of the region, too. But behavior that erodes other nations’ sovereignty and sows distrust of China’s intentions must end.
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