‘US, India banding together with others on Indo-Pacific’
The US is “banding together” with nations like India, Australia, Japan and South Korea to ensure that the sovereignty of Indo-Pacific nations is protected and that they are not subjected to coercion, secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said.
His comments came days after the Indian Navy participated with those of the US, the Philippines and Japan in their first joint naval exercise in the disputed South China Sea (SCS), where China is flexing its muscles.
Speaking at the Claremont Institute’s 40th Anniversary Gala in Beverly Hills, California, Pompeo said: “We are banding together with the like-minded nations like Australia, India, Japan and South Korea to make sure that each Indo-Pacific nation can protect its sovereignty from coercion”.
“It’s part of a greater commitment to a free and open order. You all know this: The distinctive mark of western civilization is the belief in the inherent worth of human beings, with the attendant respect for god-authored rights and liberties. Indeed, the declaration says that ‘all men are created equal’. And we ought to help nations protect these first things – and human rights as well,” he said. Trump administration’s policies, he said, has been a real pivot to Asia. “The president has taken action to stop China from stealing our stuff. No longer will American companies be forced to hand over their technological crown jewels as the price of doing business in China. When a deal doesn’t work for the United States, no deal shall be done,” Pompeo said. The US, he said, has bolstered its military presence in SCS, and have put nations on notice that the sale of key infrastructure and technology companies to China threatens their national security.
“We are also fighting the battle to make sure that the Chinese Communist Party cannot burrow into the data of billions of internet users through companies like Huawei and ZTE,” he said.