Skip to main content

Modi is the only world statesman

PM Modi Only World Statesman To Stand Up To China: Top US Expert

PM Modi Only World Statesman To Stand Up To China: Top US Expert

Story Highlights
  • India stood up to China's OBOR plan even though US remained silent:Expert
  • PM Modi has been outspoken against China's Belt and Road Initiative
  • India boycotted Belt and Road Forum organised by China in May this year
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the only world statesman to have stood up to China and their Belt and Road Initiative, even though the US has been silent on the ambitious project till recently, a top American expert on China said today.

During a Congressional hearing, Michael Pillsbury, Director of Center on Chinese Strategy at the prestigious think-tank Hudson Institute, told lawmakers that PM Modi and his team have been quite outspoken against Chinese President Xi Jinping's ambitious project.

"The only statesman in the world who stood up to it yet, is Prime Minister Modi. He and his team have been quite outspoken, partly because the Belt and Road Initiative includes violation of Indian sovereign claims," Mr Pillsbury said.

"But the US government, until now and this is a five-year-old initiative if you count the early part of it, has been silent," he said.

Praising the Trump administration for its new Indo-Pacific strategy, the former Pentagon official said in recent days people have heard more than 50 times by members of the Trump administration including the president himself mentioning a "free and open" Indo-Pacific region.

"The Chinese have already attacked this. They don't like it," said Mr Pillsbury, who is considered an authority on China-related issues.

"The Indians, fairly recently, were joking about we want to make the Indian Ocean the Indian Ocean, by which they meant the purchase of several billion dollars worth of American PA aircraft, which have weapon systems in the back that can sink ships, frankly, and other improvements including maritime situational awareness and a big new center in Delhi where the Indians can keep track of both blue holes and grey holes going through the Indian Ocean," he said.

"The Chinese are very angry about this. They have criticised the Obama administration for its effort to, as they say, boost India, to a higher rank order in comprehensive power than the Chinese believe India deserves," the top American expert on China said in response to a question.

Senator Ed Markey said China's signature Belt and Road Initiative that aims to position China as the uncontested leading power in Asia "may further coerce" and bully its neighbours through loans they cannot repay.

The Belt and Road Initiative aimed at building a vast network of infrastructure projects expanding China's expertise and capital to different parts of the world includes $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC over which India has protested as it passes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir or PoK.

India boycotted the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) organised by China in May this year to highlight its concerns over Beijing trying to push projects through PoK.

Speaking about alleged theft by China, he said the US companies face the threat of intellectual property theft with reports that China has been stealing cutting-edge research as well as sensitive trade secrets from the United States. And that includes companies working in the clean energy sector who cannot compete with state-backed firms.

Mr Pillsbury also said the Chinese are offering low interest loans to countries that cannot afford it. "We're already saw the example of Sri Lanka, which fell behind in its payments and then was the subject of coercion that if you transfer the main port here in Sri Lanka to Chinese control, we will forgive the debt. The Sri Lankans did it," he said.

There were serious concerns of debt burden brought in by the Belt and Road Initiative projects after Sri Lanka opted for long-term lease of its Hambantota port for a $1.12 billion debt swap. "...So we are beginning to see what the Belt and Road Initiative may mean," Mr Pillsbury told the lawmakers.

Senator Markey said China is challenging the very underpinnings of the global order that has brought peace and prosperity. China has not lived up to its international obligations to help de-nuclearise the Korean Peninsula, he said.

"No country has greater leverage than China, which is responsible for approximately 90 per cent of North Korean trade," he noted.

Mr Markey said, "China is challenging the international system elsewhere as well. It has constructed in violation of international law, military bases on artificial islands and disputed areas of the South China Sea."

"Through economic coercion, Beijing undermined the sovereignty of its smaller neighbours and countries including South Korea and the Philippines face Chinese retaliation for taking legal and sovereign actions in their own defence," he said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Airtel subse badiya 47 plan

Airtel Rs 47 Prepaid Plan Benefits Aforementioned, both Airtel and Vodafone are offering similar benefits with this prepaid plan. Airtel is offering a total of 7500 local, STD and national roaming seconds with this plan, which converts to a total of 125 minutes. Furthermore, the plan also offers 50 SMS and 500MB of 2G/3G/4G data for the entire validity period of 28 days. Airtel Rs 47 vs Vodafone Rs 47 Plan Comparison Vodafone India, on the other hand, is also providing similar benefits of 7500 seconds voice calling, 50 SMS and 500MB at Rs 47 and it’s an open market plan too. While both Airtel and Vodafone introduced this Rs 47 prepaid plan, Idea Cellular has come up with a Rs 75 prepaid plan with better benefits. Idea Cellular Introduces Rs 75 Prepaid Plan Idea’s all-new Rs 75 prepaid plan gives a user 300 minutes of voice calls even on national roaming, 100 SMS and 1GB of 2G/3G/4G data and that too for a period of 28 days. But Vodafone and Airtel ar...
Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Twin: All You Need To Know Here is everything that you need to know about the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Twin.   Here is everything that you need to know about the new 650 cc Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 Highlights The RE Continental GT 650 will be launched in India in Mid 2018 It shares the engine, parts and components with the Interceptor 650 We expect the pricing to be Rs. 4 lakh - Rs. 4.5 lakh Along with the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Twin, the company also gave us a glimpse of the rather good-looking Continental GT 650 Twin. This marked the first occasion that Royal Enfield showcased motorcycles with a parallel-twin engine. The Interceptor and the Continental GT 650 share the same chassis and engine, of course. But that's where the similarities end broadly. A first look at the Continental GT 650 might lead you to believe that the bike is absolutely similar to the standard Continental GT w...

Jio impact

Jio impact: Now Vodafone offers 1.5 GB data per day at Rs 349 Vodafone Vs Jio: Vodafone Rs 458 recharge plan offers 1 GB data for 70 days. Vodafone India has launched some special prepaid recharge packs in order to counter newcomer Reliance Jio, which has captured 11.19 per cent market share in the wireless segment since its launch in September last year. Incumbent telecom player including Vodafone India have been launching new plans every other day to retain their existing subscribers and increase their average revenue per user (ARPU). Here are some of the recent prepaid plans launched by Vodafone to counter Jio: Vodafone Rs 349 recharge plan Vodafone offers 1.5 GB 3G/4G data and unlimited local and STD calls to any numbers and free roaming in this plan. However, there is a cap of 250 minutes per day and 1000 minutes per week on outgoing calls. Subscribers opting for this plan will also get free subscription of Vodafone Play. Validity of this plan is 28 days. ...