Pompeo says US not asking Asia to take sides

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington isn’t asking any Asian nation to take sides as it engages with the region, where China is battling for influence and aggressively expanding its territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Pompeo hailed an Indo-Pacific engagement framework adopted by leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in June. The U.S.-China rivalry has put the Southeast Asian bloc in a tight spot, and the new framework is a