PTI, Washington :
The US is looking at partnerships and not dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said today as he unveiled a series of developmental initiatives, which many experts believe is to counter China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ policy in the region.
Mr Pompeo, however, denied that the Trump administration’s developmental initiatives were aimed at countering China.
“We’re convinced that American engagement in the Indo-Pacific benefits all the nations in that region. We want it to be free, we want it to be open. We’re not looking for dominance. We’re looking for partnerships. Others choose to behave differently. We want these to be commercially available projects led by the American private sector in a way that benefits the entire region and the world,” Mr Pompeo told CNBC in an interview.
Responding to a question on countries who have been part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ projects, Mr Pompeo said some of the countries who have engaged in that find themselves in a place that they are not happy about. “I think the others are beginning to see that as well,” he said.
“The way you convince them is that you demonstrate that over the course of history, over the even near term and medium term, that developing relationships with the United States, that having transparency, actually turns out to be better for the leadership and for the people in each of these countries,” Mr Pompeo said.
“I’m convinced that history supports that theory, and I’m also convinced that the vast majority of the countries in the Indo-Pacific will agree with that,” said the top American diplomat.
The Indo-Pacific region, he said, has been an important region for a while, but the Trump administration is taking this incredibly seriously.
“We want private industry with the assistance of the United States government, understanding that we’re going to support this effort, we’re going to have private industry go in and develop relationships. When American businesses come to these countries, they’ll thrive,” Mr Pompeo said.
