Pompeo tells Southeast Asia to stand up to PRC, shun its firms
The United States’ top diplomat urged Southeast Asian countries to stand up to maritime bullying by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and to reassess business deals with its state firms.
Speaking remotely in early September 2020 to foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the region should be confident in the United States’ support.
“Don’t just speak up but act,” Pompeo said. “Reconsider business dealings with the very state-owned enterprises that bully ASEAN coastal states in the South China Sea. Don’t let the Chinese Communist Party walk over us and our people.”
(Pictured: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, speaks during an online meeting with Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers on September 10, 2020.)
China’s State Councilor Wang Yi told ASEAN ministers that the U.S. was interfering in the South China Sea and driving its militarization.
The PRC claims historical sovereignty over most of the waterway, but its neighbors and the U.S. say that has no basis in international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which China is a signatory.
In a joint statement, ASEAN member states said progress was made in negotiations to draft a code of conduct for the South China Sea that is consistent with international law, including UNCLOS.
“Concerns were expressed by some Ministers on the land reclamations, activities, and serious incidents in the area, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions, and may undermine peace, security, and stability in the region,” the statement said.
Pompeo’s comments about Chinese firms follows Washington’s recent announcement of sanctions on 24 Chinese entities involved in building artificial islands in disputed waters and installing missile systems on them.
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, ASEAN’s chairman, in a statement welcomed the U.S. role in supporting ASEAN’s hope for peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation.
