The United States and China must work together to confront the threat posed by China to security and freedom, US Secretary Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday as he prepared for talks with Indian leaders.Pompeo arrived in New Delhi on Monday along with Defense Secretary Mark Esper for an annual strategic dialogue at a time of heightened tension in the region, with Indian troops confronting Chinese forces on their disputed Himalayan border. \u201cToday is a new opportunity for two great democracies like ours to grow closer,\u201d Pompeo said before the talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, \u201cThere is much more work to do for sure. We have a lot to discuss today: Our cooperation on the pandemic that originated in Wuhan, to confronting the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s threats to security and freedom to promoting peace and stability throughout the region.\u201d US President Donald Trump has made being tough on China a key part of his campaign to secure a second term in next week\u2019s presidential election and Pompeo has been trying to bolster allies to counter China\u2019s growing influence in the region.India has its own problems with a more assertive China. In June, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops on their high-altitude border, hardening the mood in India against China and driving Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government to seek closer military ties with the United States. This month, India invited Australia to join naval drills it holds each year with the United States and Japan, brushing off Chinese concerns that the exercises destabilise the region. \u201cOur focus now must be on institutionalising and regularising our cooperation to meet the challenges of the day and uphold the principles of a free and open Indo-Pacific well into the future,\u201d Esper said. The two sides will later on Tuesday sign a military agreement that will give India access to advanced U.S. satellite and map data for better accuracy of its missiles and drones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The United States and China must work together to confront the threat posed by China to security and freedom, US Secretary Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday as he prepared for… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n