Pompeo jets in for Bangkok talks: China stakes claim to ASEAN ‘neighbourhood’

BANGKOK: China urged non-Asian nations to avoid sowing “distrust” and division over contested seas Wednesday in a swipe at the US shortly before its top diplomat was due to arrive at a Bangkok summit bearing a message of reinvigorated American trade and security engagement in the region. The big power rivalry, framed by a trade war that has withered global growth, has dominated the summit of Southeast Asian foreign ministers, which opened Wednesday. Beijing’s military ambitions in contested seas and airspace are poised to rub up against a drive — led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — to reassert the US’ role as a key Asia-Pacific power.

“We think non-regional countries should not deliberately amplify such differences that have been left from the past,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters. Outside countries must not “to sow distrust between China and ASEAN countries”, he added, referencing the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “In a word, China will continue to view ASEAN as a priority in its neighbourhood.” His comments, which did not directly reference the US, lay down a challenge to Pompeo who arrives tasked with delivering a message of reassurance over US power and influence across Southeast Asia. The administration of Donald Trump, which yanked the US from a massive Asia-Pacific trade pact, has launched a rebranded “Indo-Pacific” security, open seas and commerce strategy. That includes “ensuring the freedom of seas and skies; insulating sovereign nations from external coercion”, a senior State Department official said. Pompeo is set to meet with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday.

The row has bled into trade ties, with Tokyo restricting exports of key chemicals used by Seoul’s world-leading chip and smartphone industry. Hours before reaching Bangkok, Pompeo said he would meet the foreign ministers of both countries and “encourage them to find a path forward”. “They’re both great partners of ours. They’re both working closely with us on our effort to denuclearise North Korea... So yeah, I hope we have a good conversation, we can help them get to a good place,” he told reporters. But China and Russia, who are enjoying increasingly close ties, are seeking to counter-balance US moves in Southeast Asia. Ministers from ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, are set to raise the issue of free trade in their talks with the US and China this week. On Wednesday Chinese state media said negotiators from the two superpowers had held “frank” and “constructive” talks in Beijing, agreeing to meet again in September to find a way through the damaging trade row.