New Delhi: The United States resorts to coercion and hegemony, a spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India said Tuesday, a day after visiting US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin called China a bully.
Addressing the media after a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Lloyd said, “We face a rapidly changing world. We see bullying and coercion from China, Russian aggression against Ukraine that seeks to redraw borders by force and threatens national sovereignty, as well as trans-national challenges, such as terrorism and climate change.”
In a strong riposte, the Chinese Embassy said the country was a “contributor to world peace and prosperity”.
China is a contributor to world peace and prosperity. “It is the US, not China, who resorts to all types of measures for coercion and hegemony. Victims of US coercion and bullying include its allies and partners, with developing countries bearing the brunt of it,” they said.
Sharpening his rhetoric against China Monday, Austin had also said democracies “must now rally together around not just our common interest, but also our shared values”.
Highlighting the importance of joint US-India military exercises, he said the two countries should put forward “vigorous leadership” in order to preserve and protect the freedoms that are essential to peace and prosperity.
Just three days ago, the US and China had a spat over what Austin said at the Shangri-La Security Summit in Singapore.
Austin warned that the conflict in Taiwan Strait would be a devastating one, and criticized China for its actions in the region.
“Our policy is constant and firm… And we will continue to categorically oppose unilateral changes to the status quo from either side. I’d also highlight that conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable. Deterrence is strong today – and it’s our job to keep it that way,” Austin said on Saturday.
He said the whole word had a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. “The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it. And so does freedom of navigation world-wide… But make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating,” he said in Singapore.
Soon after Austin spoke, Chinese People’s Liberation Army Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng told China’s state broadcaster CCTV that the US defence chief’s remarks on Taiwan were “completely wrong”.
Jing accused the US of attempting to “consolidate hegemony and provoke confrontation”, adding that the US’s activities were threatening regional peace and stability.
Despite never having governed Taiwan, China claims it as part of its territory and has increased military exercises surrounding the island.
Meanwhile in India, Austin and Rajnath Singh determined a roadmap Monday for Defence Industrial Cooperation for the next few years. This will identify opportunities to co-develop new technologies and co-produce existing and new systems as well as facilitate increased collaboration between defence start-up ecosystems.
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