US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the US government will invest $ 113 million in energy, technology and infrastructure initiatives in Asia in an attempt to resist China's growing influence in the region.
Speaking at the US Chamber of Commerce, Pompeo said the new funds represent the country's economic commitment to peace and prosperity in the region.
"The Indo-Pacific region, stretching from the US west coast to the west coast of India, is of great importance to American foreign policy," he said.
The secretary of state insisted that the country's companies continue to defend the interests of the United States in the region and gave as example the aerospace company Space X, which in May helped Bangladesh to "reach the stars" by putting its first telecommunications satellite in orbit.
In addition, Pompeo warned that the US would oppose any country trying to dominate the region, which appears to be a reference to the recent tensions between Washington and Beijing over the Chinese military presence in the South China Sea, a region being claimed by the country almost its totality.
The announcement came on the eve of Pompeo's trip to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Singapore, where he will attend the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
According to the State Department statement at the summit, the US Secretary of State aims to reiterate the US commitment to achieve a "complete, final and verified denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, reaffirming Washington's position on the South China,
Pompeo's trip comes at a time of renewed economic tensions with China, with which the US started a trade war in July, imposing import tariffs, a move that Beijing responded in a similar way, triggering further charges from Washington.
Shortly after coming to power, US President Donald Trump announced the departure of the United States from the Transpacific Association Agreement (TPP), which had been made by Barack Obama in the previous administration, to strengthen ties with the region in the face of China's influence .
