US Defense Secretary Lloyd James Austin said on Saturday that China is continuously strengthening its position along the borders with India. He reiterated that the US stands with its friends as they defend their rights amid Beijing’s “forced war situation” and an “aggressive stance” on territorial claims. At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Austin said China was aggressively pursuing its territorial claims in the South China Sea and pursuing illegal maritime plans.
“Further west, we see Beijing consolidating its position along the borders with India,” he said. The Indian and Chinese armies have been in a standoff along the border in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when the two sides clashed in the Pangong Tso lake area. China is building other infrastructure like roads and residential areas along the border areas with India. China also has border disputes with various countries in the Indo-Pacific region such as Vietnam and Japan. “We stand firm in our mutual defense commitments,” Austin reassured.
His comments come after a top US general has said that some of the defense structures being built by China near the border with India in Ladakh are ‘worrisome’. He described Chinese activities in the region as “eye-opening”. Austin said that we also stand with our friends, who are defending their rights amid China’s forced war situation and aggressive stance on territorial claims.
Despite the waves of COVID, the Indian economy made a strong comeback
The US Finance Ministry, in a report submitted to Parliament on Friday, said that the Indian economy has made a strong comeback despite facing three waves of COVID-19. In its half-yearly report released on Friday, the Finance Ministry said that the second wave of the pandemic in India had a severe impact on economic growth till mid-2021, delaying the recovery of the economy. Praising India’s anti-Covid vaccination efforts, the ministry said, however, economic activity recovered strongly in the second half of the year and India’s immunization program picked up pace. The US Treasury Ministry said that by the end of 2021, about 44 percent of India’s population had been vaccinated.
The ministry said that India’s growth rate in 2020 was seven percent. In the second quarter of 2021, the growth rate reached pre-pandemic levels and in 2021 the full year growth rate was eight percent. In early 2022, India also faced the third wave of COVID-19 due to the Omicran form of Corona, but during this time the number of deaths and economic decline remained limited.
The Ministry said that the Government of India will continue to provide financial assistance to the economy in 2021 to protect it from its ill effects in view of the pandemic. Officials estimate the total fiscal deficit to reach 6.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in FY22, which is higher than the pre-pandemic fiscal deficit. According to the ministry, the Reserve Bank of India retained its key policy rates at 4 per cent with effect from May 2020, but in January 2021, it has gradually implemented the extraordinary measures designed for growth in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. began.