“Mike Pompeo criticized China for not respecting its neighbors’ territorial integrity. What’s the story?” | 2020 | News
Taylor Fravel in the Washington Post, op-ed, February 21, 2020. “Mike Pompeo criticized China for not respecting its neighbors’ territorial integrity. What’s the story?”
At last week's Munich Security Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo observed that China has had border disputes with almost all its neighbors. Specifically, he said that "China has had a border or maritime dispute with nearly every nation bordering it."
This statement is accurate; China has been involved in border and maritime disputes with all its neighbors. But Pompeo's statement also suggests that China is still embroiled in territorial conflicts with nearly all its neighbors, posing a threat to the West and to the world. This part of his speech discussed nations that "don't respect sovereignty" and who view territorial integrity with "contempt," and his remarks focused on Russia and Iran in addition to China.
However, China's approach to territorial disputes has been quite different from what Pompeo suggests. Here's what you need to know.