US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Photo: Reuters)

He told reporters that amid the novel coronavirus outbreak which China failed to report in a timely manner, China is stepping up its aggressive activities in the South China Sea, even going so far as to sink a Vietnamese fishing boat. Pompeo said the US strongly opposes and calls for other countries to condemn China’s bullying behavior. He said he will join the Lao Foreign Minister in hosting a phone conference on the subject with ASEAN leaders.

Mr. Pompeo said the US is developing policies that will ban the products of unreliable suppliers like the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei.