China said on Wednesday that the China-India border dispute is a bilateral issue under negotiation and described Washington’s efforts to push forward Indo-Pacific policy as an “antiquated cold war strategy.”
China’s Foreign Ministry reacted to statements by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New Delhi on Tuesday that the United States supports India in the ongoing military confrontation with China along the Line of Control. Real (LAC).
“Border issues between China and India are things between the two countries. Now the situation across the border is generally stable and the two sides are resolving relevant issues through consultations and negotiations, ”said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at the ministry’s regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
Wang was responding to a question about Pompeo pushing for closer ties with India in the context of the China-India border conflict.
On Tuesday, referring to the Indian soldiers who died in the Galwan Valley on June 15, Pompeo said Washington will support New Delhi to protect its sovereignty.
Actual figures are difficult to come by, but both armies are said to have deployed thousands of soldiers to multiple sticking points across LAC in eastern Ladakh in the longest military confrontation since May, and the worst in decades.
Criticizing and focusing on Washington rather than India, Wang said: “We always believe that the development of bilateral relations between any country should lead to peace, stability and development in the region. It must not harm the interests of a third party. “
“Meanwhile, any concept of regional development must be in line with the trend of the time towards peaceful development and mutually beneficial cooperation. The Indo-Pacific strategy proposed by the United States is to preach an outdated cold war mentality and preach confrontation and geopolitical gameplay. “
Beijing perceives the Indo-Pacific strategy, which involves the United States, India, Japan and Australia and points to the freedom of maritime navigation, as a measure to counter its influence in the region, critical due to maritime trade routes.
Wang added: “His goal is to maintain US hegemony. This goes against the common interest of the region and we urge the United States to stop this. “
Wang continued to criticize the United States when asked about Pompeo’s visit to Sri Lanka, where he is expected to influence Colombo’s leadership against Beijing.
“I just answered a question about Pompeo’s statements in India. I want to add that forcing small and medium-sized countries to take sides is a habitual behavior of certain American politicians ”.
The spokesman referred to a statement from the Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs that said Colombo will handle its foreign relations in accordance with the wishes of its citizens and the relevant laws and not that of foreign powers.
Sri Lanka and China are traditional friendly neighbors. We have been conducting friendly cooperation on the basis of equal negotiations and mutual benefit that brings tangible benefits to the two people. This will never be altered by defamation or slander of other people or other countries ”.
“We will work with Sri Lanka to expand and deepen our strategic cooperative partnership, bring more benefits to our people and contribute to regional peace, stability and development,” Wang added.
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