The current clash in eastern Ladakh has significantly strained ties between New Delhi and Beijing.
Washington:
China has “attempted to seize” control of the Royal Line of Control (LAC) with India “by force” as part of its territorial aggression, the US National Security Advisor said, stressing that the time has come to accept that dialogue and agreements do not persuade Beijing to change.
India and China are locked in a tense five-month standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained relations between New Delhi and Beijing. The two sides have held a series of high-level diplomatic and military talks to resolve the border dispute. However, no progress has been made to end the confrontation.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s territorial aggression is also evident on its border with India, where China has attempted to seize control of the Royal Line of Control by force,” said US national security adviser Robert O’Brien, in a comment on China earlier this week in Utah.
China’s territorial aggression is also true in the Taiwan Strait, where the Navy and Air Force of the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) continue to conduct threatening military drills, O’Brien said.
“Beijing’s signature international development program One Belt One Road (OBOR) involves impoverished companies taking opaque and unsustainable Chinese loans to pay Chinese companies that employ Chinese workers to build their infrastructure,” he said.
Many of these projects are unnecessary, poorly constructed and are “white elephants,” said the US National Security Advisor.
“And now the dependence of these countries on Chinese debt leaves their sovereignty eroded and with no choice but to qualify the party line on UN votes or any other issue that the Chinese Communist Party considers a red line,” he said.
O’Brien also noted that China’s other international aid efforts include the sale of surveillance systems and similar crackdown tools to “rogue regimes” around the world, including Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
“The time has come to accept that dialogue and agreements will not persuade or force the People’s Republic of China to change. There is nothing to be gained by looking the other way or turning the other cheek. We have been doing it for too long,” he said. .
O’Brien said the United States must stand up to the Chinese and protect the American people.
“We must promote American prosperity, practice peace through force and promote American influence in the world,” he said, adding that under President Donald Trump’s leadership that is exactly what the United States has done.
O’Brien said the Trump administration has taken a competitive approach to China.
That approach, he said, has two main goals. First, improve the resilience of US institutions, alliances and associations to prevail in the face of the challenges China presents; and the second is to impose a tangible cost to force Beijing to cease or reduce actions harmful to the vital national interests of the United States and its allies and partners.
“President Trump has taken decisive action to achieve these goals. He is working to prevent companies from responding to the intelligence and security apparatus of the Communist Party of China,” O’Brien said.
Citing examples, he said that Chinese telecom giants Huawei and ZTE have been prevented from accessing Americans’ personal and private data and national secrets. The Trump administration, he said, has also imposed import and export restrictions on semiconductor technology from the United States and other exports going to Huawei and similar Chinese telecommunications corporations.
Our democratic partners are beginning to follow us. Last month, the UK joined democracies like the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden in committing to using trusted providers to build their future 5G networks, O’Brien said.
“Carriers such as Jio in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in South Korea, NTT in Japan and others have banned the use of Huawei equipment on their networks. The Trump administration is aggressively investigating and prosecuting economic espionage,” he said. .
O’Brien said the Trump administration has strengthened its military relations in the Indo-Pacific region.
“An important partnership that will be one of the most important for the United States in the 21st century, India, is thriving,” he said.
He also noted that the United States has signed an expanded US military access to Singapore’s air and naval bases. The country is also working closely with Japan, Australia and New Zealand to strengthen relations with the Pacific islands, especially with Timor. It is also working closely with Mongolia.
However, O’Brien said that even when the United States competes with China, it welcomes cooperation where American interests align.
“The United States has deep and abiding respect for the Chinese people and enjoys long-standing ties with that country, including our alliance in World War II,” O’Brien said.
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