U.S. Plans $113 mln in Indo-Pacific -Pompeo
The United States will invest $113 million in technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives in the Indo-Pacific as part of a new strategy to deepen ties with the region, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday ahead of a trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
"These funds represent just a down payment on a new era in U.S. economic commitment to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Pompeo said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Pompeo said the United States "will oppose any country" that seeks to dominate the region in what appeared to be a warning to Beijing at a time of increased trade frictions and tensions in the South China Sea.
Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and Daphne Psaledakis