NEW DELHI: Reacting to Lloyd Austin's comment on how China is a bully, the counterpart said that their country 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,” said China’s spokesperson to India, Wang Xiaojing.
The current China-India border situation is overall stable. The boundary question is a matter between China and India, and brooks no interference from any third party, Wang added.
Wang's response was based on Lloyd's comment on Saturday where he said the world is witnessing bullying and coercion from China which was seeking to "redraw borders by force" and also threaten the national sovereignty of countries.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum bringing together top defence officials, diplomats and leaders in Singapore, Austin lobbied for support for Washington's vision of a “free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights” as the best course to counter increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
Lloyd said this after holding a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“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 transnational challenges, such as terrorism and climate change,” said Lloyd.
He also said that the US is committed to deterring North Korea's missile threat and China's claims on Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that Beijing says is its territory, and said Washington has been stepping up defence planning, coordination and training with partner nations in the region.