- Title: U.S. to back nations whose South China Sea claims China violated
- Date: 15th July 2020
- Summary: WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES (JULY 15, 2020) (STATE TV) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MIKE POMPEO ENTERING (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "We will then go use the tools that we have available and we will support countries all across the world who recognize that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well - or maritime claims as well. We will go provide them the assistance we can, whether that's in multilateral bodies, whether that's in ASEAN, whether that's through legal responses, we will use all the tools we can." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "We continue to have a dialogue and conversations at every level within the State Department, it's happening across other agencies in the U.S. government too. There's a significant amount of conversation between the two countries." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "We have a Chinese Communist party that is putting freedom and democracy at risk by their expanionist, imperialist, authoritarian behavior." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, MIKE POMPEO, SAYING: "This is a regime that failed to disclose information they had about a virus that has now killed over a 100,000 Americans, hundreds of thousands across the world, cost the global economy trillions and trillions of dollars. And now is allowing the World Health Organization to go in to conduct what I am confident will be a completely completely whitewashed investigation." POMPEO LEAVING
- Embargoed: 29th July 2020 16:18
- Keywords: Mike Pompeo South China Sea maritime claims
- Location: WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001CMX96X3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:The United States will support countries that believe China has violated their maritime claims in the South China Sea, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday (July 15) but stressed doing so in multilateral and legal forums.
"We will then go use the tools that we have available and we will support countries all across the world who recognize that China has violated their legal territorial claims as well - or maritime claims as well," Pompeo told reporters. "We will go provide them the assistance we can, whether that's in multilateral bodies, whether that's in ASEAN, whether that's through legal responses, we will use all the tools we can," he said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Pompeo added that high-level talks were continuing between the U.S. and China but added that the Chinese Communist party "is putting freedom and democracy at risk by their expanionist, imperialist, authoritarian behavior."
He also said that he was sure the World Health Organizations investigation into China's handling of the coronavirus would be "a completely completely whitewashed investigation."
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