Pompeo Seeks Cooperation With Indonesia to Counter China

Pompeo calls China the 'gravest threat' to religious freedom

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged more support for Indonesia on Thursday during a visit to the Southeast Asian country, part of his five-day tour of Asia. Pompeo has used the trip to spread an anti-China message, and Thursday’s visit was no different.

Pompeo focused on the South China Sea, where Indonesia has had incidents with Chinese ships. Indonesia is not a claimant to any of the disputed islands in the South China Sea but has had issues with Chinese ships entering the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Jakarta’s Natuna Islands.

The EEZ is an area that extends 200 nautical miles off of a country’s coast, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In July, the Trump administration formally rejected most of China’s claims to the South China Sea under the framework of UNCLOS, although the US is not a party to the treaty.

Pompeo said China’s claims to the waters are “unlawful” and praised Jakarta for its “decisive action” to protect its sovereignty. “I am looking forward to co-operating together in the new ways to ensure maritime security protects some of the world’s busiest trade routes,” Pompeo said.

Pompeo used the visit to Indonesia, a Muslim majority country, to slam China’s alleged mistreatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. He said China is the “gravest threat” to the future of religious freedom. “The atheist Chinese Communist Party has tried to convince the world that its brutalization of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang is necessary as counter-terrorism or poverty alleviation,” he said.

Jakarta recently denied a US request to refuel spy planes in Indonesia. The request is seen as a political misfire, as Indonesia has avoided hosting foreign militaries for many years. The increase in tensions between the US and China has come with an uptick of US military flights in the region.

Pompeo’s visit came after trips to India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, where he took steps to shore up support to counter Beijing. In India, Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper signed a military agreement that will give India more access to satellite data to increase the accuracy of its missiles and drones. In the Maldives, Pompeo said the US will open an embassy in the archipelago country for the first time.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.