Chinese were aggressive, India has responded well: US Secy of State

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on China for 'instigating territorial disputes' with other countries. Referring to the bloody clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan valley on June 15, in which the Indian Army lost 20 brave soldiers, Pompeo said, "The Chinese took incredibly aggressive action." He justified New Delhi's response saying, "The Indians have done their best to respond to that."

Slamming Beijing for its expansionist policies, Pompeo said that Chinese Communist Party recently filed a boundary dispute with Bhutan during an online meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), as reported on Times Now News.

"From mountain ranges of the Himalayas to waters of Vietnam's exclusive zone to Senkaku islands and beyond, Beijing has a pattern of instigating territorial disputes. The world shouldn't allow this bullying to take place," Pompeo said.

Pompeo's strong words come close on the heels of Beijing's claim that Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS) in eastern Bhutan's Trashigang district was a 'disputed' territory. China made the objection at the virtual meeting of the GEF when Thimpu was asking for grants for the sanctuary.

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Pompeo said, "There aren't many neighbours that can satisfactorily say that they know where their sovereignty ends and the Chinese Communist Party will respect that. That is certainly true now for people of Bhutan." He called on the international community to strongly object to Beijing's move in relation with Bhutan.

In an attempt to corner China on the issue of coronavirus pandemic, Pompeo said, "The CCP has an enormous credibility problem, they failed to tell the world the truth about this virus (and now hundreds and thousands of people are dead."

“We were deeply troubled to learn this week that the CCP detained law professor Xu Zhangrun for criticising General Secretary Xi Jinping's repressive regime and the CCP's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. He should be released as soon as possible,” the US Secretary of State asserted.

“As with all unelected communist regimes, Beijing fears its own people's freethinking more than any foreign foe," Pompeo further said.

Commenting on his earlier statement that the US was contemplating banning Chinese social media apps, Pompeo said, "With respect to Tik Tok, I want to put it in a broader context. We have been engaged in a constant evaluation about ensuring that we protect the privacy of American citizens and their information."

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