Indian and American army units will hold join exercises at 9,000-10,000 feet to increase interoperability at high altitudes, he said.
Gen.Manoj Pandey receiving US Gen. Charles E Flynn, image source PTI.
General Charles E Flynn, Commanding General of the United States Army, Pacific, attended a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters at the South Block, he warned about Chinese infrastructure build-up near Ladakh.
“I believe that the ( Chinese) activity level is eye-opening. Some of the infrastructure that the Chinese are creating in the Western Theatre is alarming. Much like across all of their military arsenal, one has to ask: Why? What are their intentions?” he said.
Chinese Behaviour Corrosive, Gen.Flynn Says
Flynn also referred to multiple Sino-Indian talks to resolve the border dispute in Ladakh. He said, “ I think the talks that are going on are helpful, but behaviour matters here as well.
So I think understanding what they are saying is one thing, but the way they are acting and behaving is concerning”.
Gen.Flynn spoke about his experience in the Pacific Command since 2014. From then onwards, there has been a huge shift in Chinese approach in the region.
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“When I sort of look back on what the CPC (Chinese Communist Party) and the PRC (People’s Republic of China) were doing, compared to what they are doing today, they have taken an incremental and insidious path and destabilizing and corrosive behaviours that they project into the region are simply not helpful”.
“Our ability to strengthen relationships in the region, as a counterweight to these destabilizing activities, strengthen the network of allies,partners and like-minded countries for the protection of their land, resources, protection for a free and open Indo-Pacific, that is worthy of us working together as a counterweight to some of the coercive and corruptive behaviour of the Chinese”, he said.
India US’s Close Partner against China
Flynn called India a “ close partner of USA”. “Even though there was an awful lot going on globally, the geostrategic weight of this century exists in this region, and India, geographically and geopolitically sits at the centre of that”, he said. Both India and the US are working together to improve interoperability.
They’ll hold a Yudh Abhyas in a high altitude area, at a height of 9,000 to 10,000 feet in October. The exercise will be held in a terrain simulating that of Ladakh.
This sharing of soldier, tactical, operational practices increases everybody’s readiness to respond to crises. It also has a deterrent effect in the region. It’s an expression Indo-American shared commitments, Flynn said.
Related post- China strengthens its security along Indian borders: US Defence Secretary
(Inputs, Indian Express, The Print)
