Hours after India and the United States signed the landmark Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), China issued a statement urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "stop sowing discord" between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining the regional peace and stability.
According to a Reuters report, following the meeting between Indian ministers and the US delegates, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said: “Our leaders, and our citizens, see with increasing clarity that the Chinese Communist Party is no friend to democracy, the rule of law, transparency, nor to freedom of navigation, the foundation of a free and open, prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing that Pompeo's attacks and accusations against China are nothing new.
"These are groundless accusations which reflect that he is clinging to the Cold War mentality and ideological biases. We urge him to abandon the Cold War and the zero-sum game mentality and stop sowing discord between China and regional countries as well as undermining the regional peace and stability," Wang said.
India has been engaged in a stand-off along its border with China for the past couple months, following the Chinese attempts to occupy Indian territory. Similarly, the US has been critical of China’s military action in the South China sea.
'No Space For Third Party in Border Dispute': China
A day later, Beijing said the development of bilateral ties between countries should not "infringe upon legitimate rights and interests of a third party" and should be conducive to regional peace, stability and development, according to NDTV.
"The boundary question is a bilateral matter between China and India. The two sides have been discussing disengagement and de-escalation in the border areas through diplomatic and military channels. China and India have the wisdom and ability to handle their differences properly. There's no space for a third party to intervene," said a statement released by the Chinese Embassy.
"The 'Indo-Pacific strategy' proposed by the US is to stir up a confrontation among different groups and blocs and to stoke geopolitical competition, in a bid to maintain the dominance of the US, organize closed and exclusive ideological cliques," the statement added.
(With inputs from PTI, NDTV)
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