China urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "stop sowing discord" between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining the regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up overall India-US defence and security ties, and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Pompeo arrived in India on Monday along with Defence Secretary Mark T Esper for the third edition of the US-India 2+2 dialogue with their counterparts, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
After his India visit, Pompeo is due to visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Asked about Mike Pompeo's visit to India and other South Asian countries during which the top US diplomat's focus would be on China's threats, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing that Mike Pompeo's attacks and accusations against China are nothing new.
"He repeated them time and again," Wang said.
"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.
His remarks came amidst India and the US signing the landmark Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) that will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information between the two countries.
The signing of the long-negotiated BECA between the two strategic partners also signals further boosting of bilateral defence and military ties, and it comes in the backdrop of India's tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
#IndiaChina #IndiaUS #MikePompeo #WangWenbin
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