‘China Has A Pattern of Instigating Territorial Disputes’: Pompeo

“China took incredibly aggressive action. Indians have done their best to respond,” the US Secretary of State said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Mike Pompeo)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hit out at China while referring to India-China border tensions on 8 July, adding that India had done its best to respond to the incredibly aggressive action.

“I have spoken with Foreign (External Affairs) Minister Jaishankar a number of times about this. The Chinese took incredibly aggressive action. The Indians have done their best to respond to that,” Pompeo said while he was answering questions about the Chinese intrusion into Indian territories in eastern Ladakh, PTI reported.

Continuing to speak, Pompeo said, "I put this in the context of (Chinese) General Secretary Xi Jinping and his behaviour throughout the region and, indeed, throughout the world," adding that it was not possible to look at that particular instance of Chinese Communist Party aggression in isolation. “ I think you need to put it in the larger context," he said.

‘World Shouldn't Allow This Bullying’

Pompeo said, “From the mountain ranges of the Himalayas to the waters of Vietnam’s exclusive zone to the ...islands and beyond Beijing has a pattern of instigating territorial disputes,” adding that “The world should not allow this bullying to take place. Nor should it permit it to continue.”

Speaking about US President Donald Trump’s reaction to the ongoing tensions, he said, “This is what the world must come together to respond to, this increasing revisionist effort that the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in. It’s something that President (Donald) Trump has taken incredibly seriously.”

China is engaged in several territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The country has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in these hotly contested disputes. These areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are vital to global trade, PTI reported.