U.S., India will ‘probably’, ‘certainly’ discuss LAC state of affairs: Senior U.S. Official

A senior State Department official stated the India-China state of affairs alongside the Line of Actual Control will “certainly” and “probably” be mentioned when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi subsequent week for the third edition of the 2+2 ministerial.

“Certainly, I think the situation on the Line of Actual Control will be – will probably be discussed at some point, and we’re watching the situation closely. I think both sides have expressed a desire to de-escalate violence,” Deputy Assistant Secretary David Thompson informed reporters on a briefing name on Thursday afternoon.

Mr. Thompson stated that the 2 U.S. secretaries would additionally meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss methods to advance the U.S.- India partnership (formally referred to as a “Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership”).

He didn’t affirm whether or not BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) –a geospatial cooperation agreements between the U.S. and India – can be signed on the 2+2 assembly.

“We’re in the process of finalizing a lot of the discussions right now, and so I know that BECA and other agreements are in the works,” Mr. Thompson stated in response to a query on BECA and a maritime data sharing settlement between the 2 international locations.

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“ I’m not going to, I think, commit to anything right this minute, but we do expect to have several items highlighted as we go through the trip,” he stated.

The dialogue will deal with “ global cooperation, on pandemic response, and challenges in the Indo-Pacific: economic space and energy collaboration, people-to-people ties, and defense and security cooperation,” in accordance with Mr. Thompson.

Meeting was rescheduled

On the query of this assembly being held only a week earlier than the U.S. elections, Mr. Thompson stated it was scheduled to be held earlier however was postponed as a result of pandemic.

“There’s a lot happening in the relationship with India and with our other partners in the region, and so the fact that we could go now, that we could have this discussion, is driven by the situation in the region,” he stated.

“As I noted in the – at the top, one of the topics of discussion, a very important topic of discussion, will be COVID-19 response, and so obviously now is a good time to do that.”

On a query about whether or not the spouses of Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Esper can be accompanying them to India and what sources have been getting used for this through the pandemic, an official stated they didn’t have “anything to say about the minor details” of who will be within the touring celebration.

Secretary Pompeo to journey to Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia

After his go to to New Delhi, Mr. Pompeo will journey to Colombo, Male and Jakarta. In Sri Lanka , Mr. Pompeo will current choices for Sri Lanka to companion with the U.S. on financial improvement (presumably as an alternative choice to a Beijing-led course of).“In the interest of strengthening our longstanding partnership with Sri Lanka and reinforcing our long-term commitment to the region, we encourage Sri Lanka to review the options we offer for transparent and sustainable economic development in contrast to discriminatory and opaque practices,” Mr. Thompson stated.

“We urge Sri Lanka to make difficult but necessary decisions to secure its economic independence for long-term prosperity, and we stand ready to partner with Sri Lanka for its economic development and growth.”

Mr. Pompeo , who will meet with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, will additionally discuss regional maritime cooperation and democracy, human rights reconciliation, non secular freedom and justice, Mr. Thompson stated.