China is engaged in a “border war” with India and is posing a grave threat to its neighbours, top Republican lawmaker John Cornyn has told the U.S. Senate, giving details of his visit to New Delhi and Southeast Asia to understand the challenges faced by countries in the region.
Senator Mr. Cornyn, who is also the India Caucus Co-Chair, and his Congressional colleagues have just returned from a visit to India and Southeast Asia wherein they had a firsthand experience of the challenges being posed by China.
“The most urgent and grave threats are against countries closer to China’s borders,” Mr. Cornyn told members of the Senate on Tuesday.
“Last week, I had the chance to lead a congressional delegation visiting Southeast Asia to gain a better understanding of the threats and challenges in the region,” he said.
“It (China) threatens freedom of navigation in international waters, and it’s guilty of gross human rights abuses against its own people, namely the Muslim minority Uyghurs. It’s engaged in a border war with India and it threatens to invade the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan,” Mr. Cornyn said. Mr. Cornyn said that they travelled to India where “we met with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi and Cabinet officials to discuss threats posed by China as well as other shared priorities.” The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.