US outs huge number of China's missile tests; tells Beijing to open talks with Dalai Lama

In view of the India-China border dispute in the Eastern Ladakh region, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the US hopes for a peaceful resolution to the border dispute between the two South Asian countries.

In a big statement, Pompeo said China has conducted more missile tests in the last year than all the western nations combined.

"If you’re going to be serious, you’ve to use those (missiles) in a way that is consistent with how nations undertake obligation under nuclear proliferation treaties,” Pompeo said while addressing a press conference at the State Department.

He called out China's pattern of bullying its neighbours, right from Taiwan straight and South China Sea waters to the Himalayan ranges.

“We are hoping for a peaceful resolution of the situation on the India-China border. From the Taiwan Strait to the Himalayas and beyond, the Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a clear and intensifying pattern of bullying its neighbours, It is also evident in the South China Sea," Pompeo said.

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Pompeo also insisted that China must engage in talks with Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. 

Washington has also imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on Chinese individuals and entities responsible for the CPC’s imperialism and doing things such as unlawful energy surveillance activities in the economic zones of other countries, said Pompeo.

Also, the US expressed concern about the growing presence of Chinese vessels near the Galapagos which is a province of Ecuador. 

“In light of this maritime lawlessness, it is no surprise that Beijing's candidate in the international tribunal for the law of the sea election last week received more abstentions than any other candidate," he said while speaking of the Chinese aggression.

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India thwarts China's provocation

Pompeo's statement comes in the light of India's Ministry of External Affairs' revelation that the People’s Liberation Army once again engaged in provocative action on August 31 even as the ground commanders of the two nations were trying to deescalate the situation. After the revelation, the US State Department said that it is closely monitoring the India-China border standoff.

MEA said that that the Indian Army foiled China’s attempt to unilaterally change the status quo after it engaged in provocative action on August 31. MEA official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the Indian Army had taken appropriate defensive measures along the Line of Actual Control to safeguard national interests.