Washington's top diplomat urged Southeast Asia on Thursday to cut ties with Chinese companies helping build islands in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, even as Beijing denounced the United States as “the biggest driver of militarization” in the region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s comments came at a regional Asian summit overshadowed by the US-China rivalry over a range of issues, from trade to the coronavirus. Tensions are also simmering over the South China Sea, with the US last month sanctioning 24 Chinese state-owned companies it said had helped Beijing’s military buildup in the resource-rich waterway.

US, China swap charges; rivalry mars SEA talks. (2020, September 11). Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.