Stop sowing discord: China
BEIJING: China on Tuesday accused the US of sowing discord between Beijing and regional countries as US secretary of state Mike Pompeo held high-level talks with New Delhi with a focus on strengthening bilateral defence and strategic ties, and blamed China for the border clashes. “Pompeo’s attacks and accusations are nothing new,” Beijing said.
China on Tuesday urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to stop sowing discord between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining the regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties, and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Pompeo arrived in India on Monday along with Defence Secretary Mark T Esper for the third edition of the US-India 2+2 dialogue with their counterparts, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
After his India visit, Pompeo is due to visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Asked about Pompeo’s visit to India and other South Asian countries during which the top US diplomat’s focus would be on China’s threats, Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that “Pompeo’s attacks and accusations against China are nothing new.” He repeated time and again, Wang said. “These are groundless accusations which reflect that he is clinging to the Cold War mentality and ideological biases. We urge him to abandon the Cold War and the zero-sum game mentality and stop sowing discord between China and regional countries as well as undermining the regional peace and stability,”
Wang said.
His remarks came amidst India and the US signing the landmark Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) that will allow sharing of highend military technology, classified satellite data and critical information between the two countries. The signing of the long-negotiated BECA between the two strategic partners also signals further boosting of bilateral defence and military ties, and it comes in the backdrop of India’s tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
Meanwhile, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday after the third edition of the 2+2 strategic dialogue that majorly focused on dealing with China’s aggressive military behaviour in eastern Ladakh,
Indo- Pacific and other parts of the world.
Severely critical of China, Pompeo, cited killing of Indian Army personnel in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in a clash with the Chinese military, and asserted that both India and the US are taking steps to strengthen cooperation against all threats and not just those posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “We stand with India in its efforts to defend its sovereignty and its liberty,” Pompeo said at a joint media briefing attended by S Jaishankar, Rajnath Singh and Mark T Esper.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the US stands “shoulder-to-shoulder” in suport of a free and open Indo-Pacific for all.