US to ASEAN: Reconsider deals with blacklisted China firms

Mike Pompeo has asked ASEAN nations to go beyond words and act against Beijing's bullying in the disputed South China Sea, promising America will back them up.

Hanoi: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Southeast Asian nations on Thursday to reconsider deals with Chinese companies blacklisted by Washington for building island outposts that Beijing is using to "bully" rival claimants in the disputed South China Sea.

Pompeo spoke with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an annual conference by video due to the coronavirus pandemic. Four of the members — the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei — have been locked in the long-raging territorial conflict with China, along with Taiwan, over the busy waterway, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

Although the US lays no claim to the South China Sea, the Trump administration has recently imposed sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for Beijing's military buildup in the area. It includes airfields and radar and missile stations on islands constructed atop coral reefs, raising fears China may interfere with freedom of navigation in international waters.

"I think, keep going, don't just speak up but act," Pompeo told top diplomats from the 10-nation bloc, without elaborating. A State Department's spokeswoman said that he pressed for a peaceful resolution of the disputes.

China does not respect democratic values and principles of sovereignty, quality and territorial integrity enshrined in the ASEAN charter, Pompeo said. He cited the US blacklisting of about two dozen Chinese companies for their roles in constructing artificial islands in the disputed waters that infringe on other states' claims.

"Reconsider business dealing with the very state-owned companies that bully ASEAN coastal states in the South China Sea," Pompeo said.

"Don't let the Chinese Communist Party walk over us and our people. You should have confidence and the American will be here in friendship to help you," he added.

AP