Blinken urges end to Chinese 'aggressive actions' in Indo-Pacific

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged China to cease "aggressive actions" in the Indo-Pacific, speaking during a visit to the region, as Washington seeks to bolster alliances against Beijing.

President Joe Biden's administration is trying to reset relations and reassert its influence in Asia after the turbulence and unpredictability of the Donald Trump era. 

Blinken's comments came in Indonesia, the first leg of a Southeast Asian tour, the latest visit to the region by a senior US official in recent months.

In a speech outlining the US approach to the Indo-Pacific, Blinken said Washington would work with allies and partners to "defend the rules-based order" and countries should have the right to "choose their own path".

"That's why there is so much concern -- from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia and from the Mekong River to the Pacific Islands -- about Beijing's aggressive actions. 

"Claiming open seas as their own. Distorting open markets through subsidies to its state-run companies. Denying the exports or revoking deals for countries whose policies it does not agree with."

"Countries across the region want this behavior to change -- we do too," he said, during the speech at the University of Indonesia.

He added that Washington was "determined to ensure freedom of navigation in the South China Sea", and said Beijing's actions there threaten the movement of more than $3 trillion worth of commerce every year.

But Blinken also stressed that "it's not about a contest between a US-centric region or a China-centric region -- the Indo-Pacific is its own region", and said Washington wanted to avoid conflict there.