US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a congressional testimony on Thursday that the tide is turning against China after the United States engaged in vigorous diplomacy that has led to an international awakening about the central threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a congressional testimony on Thursday that the tide is turning against China after the United States engaged in vigorous diplomacy that has led to an international awakening about the central threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
"We see the Chinese Communist Party for what it is: the central threat of our times," Pompeo told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Our vigorous diplomacy has helped lead an international awakening to the threat of the CCP. Senators, the tide is turning."
Pompeo pointed out that more than 30 countries have prohibited what he called are "untrusted" Chinese 5G vendors from their networks and others have denounced China's actions in Hong Kong.
"In our hemisphere, Canada has stood firm against the CCP's hostage-taking. Its three major telecom carriers have also banned untrusted vendors," Pompeo said. "Belize and Haiti have denounced Beijing's national security law targeting Hong Kong."
In addition, Pompeo said the United Kingdom has offered refuge to millions of residents of Hong Kong, while Denmark has rejected China's attempted censorship of Danish newspapers and is alarmed by Chinese activity in the Arctic.
"Sweden closed all its Confucius Institutes. Lithuanian intelligence services identified China as a potential threat for the first time," Pompeo noted.
Importantly, Pompeo added, Australia has declared Beijing's claims regarding the South China Sea illegal, and the United States has partnered with friendly countries to ensure freedom of navigation.
"We're proud to have stepped up maritime maneuvers in that body of water alongside friends like Australia, India, Japan and the United Kingdom," Pompeo said.
Moreover, the US Secretary of State noted that the multilateral institutions have demanded that all maritime disputes must be resolved based on international law.
"All ten ASEAN nations have insisted that South China Sea disputes must be settled on the basis of international law, including UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]," Pompeo said. "Secretary-General Stoltenberg has called for NATO to make China a greater part of the alliance's focus."
Pompeo is testifying in Congress after the latest tensions in US-China relations that saw the United States close the Chinese consulate in Houston over alleged spying and influence operations and the reciprocal retaliatory measure by China closing the US consulate in Chengdu.
US-China relations have significantly deteriorated in the past several years with Washington accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices, a poor response to the coronavirus outbreak, human rights violations and unwarranted territorial disputes with neighboring countries. China has denied accusations and criticized the United States for various violations of international law.
