Most ASEAN countries will remain cautious and not publicly take the United States’ side after Washington rejected Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, according to analysts. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that China’s assertions of sovereignty in the disputed waterway were “completely unlawful”.  Assistant Professor Benjamin Ho at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies said most ASEAN countries would interpret Pompeo’s comments within the context of the upcoming US elections, during which relations with China would emerge as a major foreign policy and even national security issue.