U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement this week of a landmark security agreement with India marks another step toward building closer ties with South Asia and countering China’s influence in the region, analysts said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday during his South Asia trip that the United States will open an embassy in the Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago.
At each stop, Pompeo emphasized what the United States calls China’s economic plunder and military aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
Secretary of State Pompeo said, “This is about security, and the Maldives and other island nations I just visited, such as Micronesia and Sri Lanka, take on new importance as the Chinese Communist Party continues its illegal and threatening behavior.”
In India this week, Pompeo and Defense Secretary Esper signed landmark security and military agreements. In the midst of an ongoing border dispute between India and China, Pompeo described Beijing’s threat in stark terms.
Secretary of State Pompeo said, “The United States will stand with the people of India as they face threats to their sovereignty and freedom.”
Analysts say Pompeo has visited countries that have received major infrastructure funding assistance from China, but now they realize the money is conditional,” he said.
Michael Kugelman, associate director of Asia programs at the Wilson Center, said, “These countries are also increasingly concerned about Chinese investment, about tracking diplomacy and all the other aspects of financial lending. So, I think for Pompeo, he sees an opportunity to make the most of the growing concerns within these countries about China.”
Even before Pompeo arrived in Sri Lanka, China warned the U.S. not to “bully” Colombo, a country that had already received large investments from Beijing.
State Department spokesman John Ortegaz responded in an interview with the Voice of America on Wednesday. This is a new approach, and this country spends a lot of time bullying other countries, whether it’s bullying countries in the South China Sea or breaking commitments on Hong Kong or Taiwan,” Mr. Ortegaz said. You know, this is a country that is used to beating its chest and taking advantage of the international community.”
Spokesman Ortegaz said that at each of his stops in South Asia, Pompeo emphasized shared democratic values and expressed relief that face-to-face diplomacy was possible during the global neo-crown epidemic pandemic.
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