China Amassing Huge Forces Against India, States Mike Pompeo; Pushes For Closer Ties Between US And India

In a major development, United States (US)' Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday (9 October) pushed for closer ties with India warning of growing Chinese aggressiveness along the border with India, reports Times of India.

Pompeo pressed, "They absolutely need the US to be their ally and partner in this fight." He added that China has now begun to amass huge forces against India in the north.

Speaking in a no holds fashion in an interview with radio host Larry O'Connor, Pompeo said, "the world has awaken. The tide's begun to turn. And the US under President Trump's leadership has now built out a connection that will push back against the threat."

The assertions by Pompeo come at a time when he met with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar days ago in Tokyo during the meeting of QUAD nation's foreign ministers. Also, in the weeks to come, Pompeo is set to visit India along with US' Secretary of Defence Mark Esper. To prepare for the meeting, Pompeo's Deputy Stephen Biegun will also be travelling to India next week.

It should be noted that days ago, speaking at Heritage Foundation, Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu had stressed that he expected the two nation's to discuss boosting defence ties during the visit by Pompeo and Esper.