U.S. to ASEAN: Rethink deals with Chinese firms

HANOI, Vietnam — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Southeast Asian nations Thursday to reconsider deals with Chinese companies blacklisted by Washington for building island outposts he says Beijing is using to “bully” rival claimants in the disputed South China Sea.

Pompeo spoke with counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 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.

“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 spokeswoman said 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 U.S. 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 said.

There was no immediate comment from China or its foreign minister, Wang Yi, who was participating in the ASEAN meetings and separately met the group’s ministers Wednesday.