US not involved in the killing of Hamas chief Haniyeh, says Secretary of State Blinken

SINGAPORE: The United States was "not aware of or involved in" the killing of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday (Jul 31).

He was speaking to CNA during his two-day official visit to Singapore, hours after it was reported that Haniyeh - a key figure in the Gaza ceasefire talks - was killed in his residence in Iran's capital Tehran.

When asked what impact the killing is going to have, Blinken said: “It's very hard to speculate, and I've learned over many years never to speculate on the impact one event may have on something else.”

Instead, he stressed on the importance of getting a ceasefire to end the nine-month war, saying: “We will continue to labour that for as long as it takes to get there.”

He noted: “It's vitally important to help end the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. It's vitally important to get the hostages home, including a number of Americans.

“It's vitally important to hopefully put things on a better path for more enduring peace and more enduring security. So that focus remains and again, speculating on the impact of any one event, I've learned, is not a not a wise thing to do.”

GAZA CEASEFIRE IS "IMPERATIVE"

Blinken said the imperative of getting a ceasefire remains the best way of bringing down tensions in the Middle East.

“One of the things that we've been focused on is trying to make sure that the conflict that emerged in Gaza doesn't spread, doesn't go to other places, doesn't escalate, and we're going to continue to do that as well," he added.

"Now again, the best way to bring temperature down everywhere and to put us on a better path is through a ceasefire in Gaza."

Blinken arrived in Singapore on Tuesday as part of his 18th trip to the Indo-Pacific region. 

“What we're seeing across the board is something that (US) President Joe Biden was determined to do from day one. And that's to reinvigorate, to - in some cases - even reimagine, but to start by reinvigorating our core alliances and our core partnerships,” he told CNA. 

“Even with everything else that's going on in other parts of the world, our focus is here, because we see our future, as an Indo-Pacific country ourselves, as very much being with this region.”

Both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in the Nov 5 election, see the country's future in the Indo Pacific, said Blinken. 

“When it comes to the Indo Pacific, for us, that's not only the present, it's clearly the future,” he said. 

“That's reflected in what we're doing now with this intense and sustained engagement these last three-and-a-half years. And I'm convinced that that will be the approach that's taken in the coming time as well.”

ALLIANCES ARE "DEFENSIVE IN NATURE"

Blinken's six-country tour of Asia from Jul 25 to Aug 3 also includes Laos, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and Mongolia.

On the US’ plans for a major revamp of its military command in Japan to address an evolving security environment, he said: “When it comes to Japan or when it comes to Korea, where we have treaty alliances, we're going to make sure, and continue to make sure that they have everything they need to be able to defend their sovereignty, defend themselves against any threats, and that they have the ability to work closely with us.”

He stressed that each alliance “is defensive in nature”. 

“There is no design on anyone else, on anyone else's territory. This is all about making sure that, as necessary, we can protect ourselves from threats, and, most importantly, deter them from happening in the first place,” he added. 

“So what we're doing with Japan, what we're doing with Korea is very much what we're doing in different ways with other partners in the region. That's the intent behind it.”

Addressing concerns of overreliance on Japan in the region, Blinken said: “If you look at our engagements throughout the region, you see us strengthening, building, and even creating new partnerships with countries and institutions throughout the region.”

US "SIMPLY CAN'T EFFECTIVELY SOLVE" MOST PROBLEMS ALONE

Blinken also touched on concerns within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) about the potential of the Quad - a partnership among Australia, India, Japan and the US - to be a regional-order making institution. 

“What the Quad is and the other arrangements we have are complementary to, supportive of ASEAN and its central mission and core mission. What we're interested in doing is finding ways to make sure that we have the most effective vehicles for addressing particular problems…”

During the interview with CNA, Blinken also commented on the US presidential race, saying many Americans are supportive of a US that is “working in partnership with others, not doing things alone”. 

“I think they know, both intuitively and in a very practical way, that we're going to be much more effective if we can make common cause with other countries to actually get things done,” he said. 

“Both President Biden and Vice President Harris, believe strongly that when the United States is not engaged, if we're not leading, then probably someone else is, and maybe not in a way that's going to advance our interests and values - interests and values that we share with so many, including Singapore.”

US, SINGAPORE SHARE "EXTRAORDINARY PARTNERSHIP"

During his Singapore visit, Blinken met Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan. 

On Wednesday, the US and Singapore signed a deal, commonly known as a “123 Agreement”, to study how nuclear technology can support climate and energy needs. 

Blinken said Singapore and the US share “an extraordinary partnership”, cooperating in areas such as defence, technology and regional capacity building. 

“I think that's a very powerful story of the United States and Singapore working together, not only for the benefit of our own people, but for the benefit of people throughout the region that we share,” he added. 

Blinken noted that the US is the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Southeast Asia, and the largest recipient of FDI in the world. 

He said: “Why is that important? Because that is maybe among the most important evidence of trust between countries, of confidence, of optimism about the future, because people don't make investments if they don't believe that they have a strong partner to work with and that they're going to achieve something going forward.”