Pompeo: Reports of Chinese vessels near Galapagos 'deeply troubling'

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 27 August 2020 5:03 PM

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said reports of hundreds of Chinese vessels near the Galapagos Islands are "deeply troubling."

Pompeo made the remarks in a tweet on Thursday following recent reports out of Ecuador about vessels from a predominately Chinese fishing fleet.

"Reports of 300+ Chinese vessels near the Galapagos disabling tracking systems, changing ship names, and leaving marine debris are deeply troubling," Pompeo tweeted, urging China "to be transparent and enforce its own zero tolerance policy on illegal fishing."

The US and China have been at odds over a range of issues; but recently, Washington has taken a markedly more aggressive posture against Beijing. Pompeo has called for regime change in "Communist China."

Washington's aggressive posturing against Beijing comes shortly before the US presidential election in November.

Meanwhile, China has said it has no intention of ratcheting up tensions with the United States and engaging in a diplomatic war with Washington.

The administration of US President Donald Trump took a stern anti-China posture soon after it took office in 2017. It has clashed with Beijing over trade, the South China Sea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the coronavirus pandemic.

China's Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the country will not "dance to the tune" of the United States or allow it to "cause trouble."