U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called on Southeast Asian countries to review ties with Chinese state-owned enterprises, stepping up pressure on Beijing over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
“Don’t just speak up, but act,” Pompeo said during a virtual summit with foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Thursday. “Reconsider business dealings with the very state-owned companies that bully Asean coastal states in the South China Sea. Don’t let the Chinese Communist Party walk over us and our people.”
