Last Updated on October 29, 2020
China’s moves in the South China Sea and their continued meddling in the affairs of other nations has prompted the United States and India to form a pact that will allow them to cooperate in satellite and mapping imagery.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a pact with India to share satellite and mapping information. Earlier in the day, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper took to the microphones in the shadow of the pact announcement to warn of an increasing regional threat from China.
Today’s U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial was a success. The bond between our nations is built on the foundation of a longstanding friendship, partnership, and vibrant democratic traditions. Thank you @DrSJaishankar, @EsperDoD, and @rajnathsingh for yet another successful dialogue. pic.twitter.com/h9fy6c7lYz
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 27, 2020
“This morning, we visited the National War Memorial to honor the brave men and women of the Indian Armed Forces who have sacrificed for the world’s largest democracy, including 20 that were killed by the [Chinese] PLA (People’s Liberation Army) forces in the Galwan Valley in June,” Pompeo said, citing an ongoing border dispute between China and India.
US Defence Secretary Dr Mark T Esper & US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo jointly laying Wreath at the National War Memorial in New Delhi today. The two senior Ministers of USA are visiting New Delhi for India-USA Bilateral Meeting & 2+2 Dialogue on 26 -27 October 2020. pic.twitter.com/6xeT27bAsx
— PRO, GUWAHATI, MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, GOVT OF INDIA (@prodefgau) October 27, 2020
“The United States will stand with the people of India as they confront threats to their sovereignty and to their liberty,” Pompeo said.
Esper said the Basic Exchange & Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation is a “significant milestone” that would promote and maintain “greater geospatial information sharing between our armed forces.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a statement, “Pompeo’s attacks and allegations against China are nothing new. They are merely old lies repeated time and again, only to expose his Cold War mentality and ideological bias.”
In an interview with the Indian publication The Print, Pompeo said, “I think the world has begun to recognize the threat posed by the ideology that emanates from the Chinese Communist Party,” adding Indian officials “get that.”
Tension between the China and the United States has been increasing as a trade war between the two countries rages on.
Aside from Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and Taiwan, the Trump administration’s blames the Communist Chinese government for the worldwide COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The United States hopes to counter Chinese global influence and their immediate influence in the region by forming an alliance with Japan, India and Australia.
