New Delhi: US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the United States will stand with India as it confronts threats to its sovereignty and liberty. He also mentioned the sacrifice of 20 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in the violent Galwan valley clash with China in eastern Ladakh.
At a joint media interaction after 2+2 ministerial meeting, Pompeo slammed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and said “No friend to democracy, rule of law and transparency.”
“We visited the National War Memorial to honour brave men and women of Indian armed forces who sacrifices for the world’s largest democracy, including 20 killed by PLA in Galwan Valley. The US will stand with India as they confront threats to their sovereignty, liberty,” Pompeo said.
“US and India are taking steps to strengthen our cooperation against all manner of threats and not just those posed by the Chinese Communist Party. Last year, we have expanded our cooperation on cyber issues, our naives have held joint exercises in Indian ocean,” Pompeo added.
India and the US signed five key agreements during the visit including the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) which will allow India real-time access to precision data and topographical images from the United States military satellites.