U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday urged Southeast Asian countries to reconsider business deals with the 24 Chinese companies and individuals that Washington sanctioned last month for their roles in constructing Beijing’s artificial islands in the South China Sea. The Chinese state-owned companies strong-arm coastal Southeast Asian nations in the disputed waterway and these countries need to actively preserve territorial integrity, Pompeo said at an online meeting with foreign ministers from the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Reconsider business dealings with the very state-owned companies that bully ASEAN coastal states in the South China Sea,” said the top American diplomat at the annual meeting “Don’t just speak up, but act. … Don’t let the Chinese Communist Party walk over us and our people.”
Pompeo further said that China doesn’t respect values enshrined in the ASEAN charter, while the U.S. does support Southeast Asian nations’ sovereignty and growth.
