HomeBreaking NewsTension between India and China: Recent issues and challenges

Tension between India and China: Recent issues and challenges

The US has remained “vigilant” about Chinese activities along India’s northern border because it cannot take its eyes off regional security issues, a senior US official said on Wednesday, amid a more than 29-month-old border dispute in eastern Ladakh that has become increasingly fractured. ties between two neighbors. Rear Admiral Michael L Baker, the US defense attaché in New Delhi, also said it was important to be “mindful” of China’s actions in the South China Sea as well, even as he called Indo-US defense ties a “cornerstone” of the overall bilateral relationship.

“It’s definitely an important area for us. We remain vigilant,” he told a small group of reporters. “We’re working closely with India to exchange views on this area to make sure we have a clear idea of ​​what we think can happen, and I think it’s a space that both India and for the United States we go. stay awake over time. We cannot take our eyes off regional security issues,” Rear Admiral Baker said. His remarks came when asked if the US was monitoring developments along India’s border with China and how the US viewed the ongoing conflict unfolding in the coming months.

The senior defense official also noted that the US wants to be the “partner of choice for India” and that New Delhi has the freedom to choose its partners. He was asked about India’s decades-long defense ties with Russia, including nuclear-powered submarine projects. “We want to be a partner for India. India has the ability to choose its partners and has made a conscious decision to diversify more in the last decade. It has made a conscious decision to continue diversifying into the future. And it has made a conscious decision to work with the US in many areas,” Rear Admiral Baker said.

In response to another question about China’s growing military presence in the South China Sea, Rear Admiral Baker said it was important to help countries across the region to choose security partners. “They have a very aggressive stance in the South China Sea. The United States also has a fairly clear public stance on the matter. That’s something we have to watch out for and watch out for,” said a senior US defense official.

He said countries in the region could partner with someone like India or the US or both. “This is key to ensuring that the Indo-Pacific remains free and open, a shared goal for both India and the United States.” Asked again about the successful launch of a ballistic missile by an Indian nuclear-powered submarine last month, he said the country had done it in a “responsible manner”. He did not directly answer whether the US was helping India deter China, but said India has an “incredibly bright future” because it has “excellent geography and high mountains” that are crucial for defense.

He also mentioned India’s large landmass and access to the sea, saying, “These are key elements for us to become a superpower. Regarding the situation in the Indian Ocean, he said China has had a fairly continuous naval presence in the region for at least a decade. “That’s been a pretty consistent presence,” he said. Rear Admiral Baker said robust defense trade, numerous high-level dialogues and increasing number of military exercises at sea, air and land further strengthen India-US defense ties.

“I think we have a lot of trust between our countries and between our militaries. We collectively do more exercises in India than any other country. We routinely operate together at sea and these kinds of interactions build trust and familiarity every day,” he said. Rear Admiral Baker also noted that India and the US conduct joint maritime patrols and operate in the same operational space in both the North Arabian Sea and the Pacific. “We know each other so well and have a strong trust,” he added.

Asked how the U.S. sees the growing cooperation between Russia and China in the wake of the war in Ukraine, Rear Admiral Baker said the amount Moscow is receiving from “that other partner” is not in line with international law or rules. “We would urge both of them to immediately take the right position in that war in Ukraine,” he said, referring to comments by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that if Russian President Vladimir Putin “stops fighting, the war will end and if Ukraine stops”. fight, Ukraine ends.” Indo-US defense ties have been on the rise in the past few years.

In June 2016, the US designated India as a “major defense partner”, paving the way for sharing critical military equipment and technology. The two countries have also signed key defense and security pacts in the past few years, including the 2016 Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repairs and resupply. The two sides also signed the COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018, which ensures interoperability between the two militaries and ensures the sale of high-end technology from the US to India. In October 2020, India and the US entered into the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) to further strengthen bilateral defense ties. The pact allows for the sharing of cutting-edge military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries.

BY: Vaishali verma

Read Now :<strong>Inaugurate of 15th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference & Expo 2022 in Kochi on November 4, 2022</strong>

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