US: For coercion Loans from China to Pakistan and Sri Lanka To Be Used as Leverage

On Friday, the United States raised alarm over loans China was providing to nations in India’s “near neighborhood.” The Chinese payments to both Sri Lanka and Pakistan could serve as leverage for coercion, according to Donald Lu. He is the assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs. Donald Lu said this at a press conference about Secretary Antony Blinken’s impending journey to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and India.

From March 1 to March 3, the top American official will be in New Delhi for a three-day official tour to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers Conference. In response to Pakistan’s minister of finance Ishaq Dar’s declaration that the nation has been granted a $700 million credit line by the board of the China Development Bank (CDB).

According to Lu, there’s been a proper debate about China between the US and India. They have serious concerns about Chinese loans to nations near India being used as leverage for coercion. And they are speaking with India and the other nations in the region about how they can assist nations in making their own decisions rather than being forced to do so by any third parties, including China. About Chinese loans to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Lu provided an answer.

According to Lu, Russia is having a hard time satisfying contracts for defense contracts abroad, which could have an impact on India’s military ties with Russia. When Lu questioned why India resists using the word “war” about Russia’s incursion on Ukraine, he cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

India commonly says the term “war.” In August, you heard Prime Minister Modi say that the time is not right for war. We need to get this war to end diplomatically and by the UN Charter’s tenets, strengthening national security and independence, the external affairs minister Jaishankar stated in September at the UN.

“The threat to deploy nuclear weapons by Russia is inappropriate and at odds with the fundamental principles of humanity, according to defense minister Rajnath Singh, who made this statement in November. Hence, I don’t see a hesitation to use the word “war.” I believe they frequently employ it “said Lu.

Quad is not a strategic partnership, according to Lu. “The Quad is not, in reality, a body that opposes any one nation or collection of nations. The Quad seeks to advance initiatives and ideals that help the Indo-Pacific, a region that is free and open but also wealthy and upholds the ideals that we, the four nations, stand for “added he.

The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Conference will put a special emphasis on enhancing multilateralism and expanding collaboration in the areas of women’s empowerment, gender equality, disaster relief, global health, drug policy, sustainable development, energy security, and food.

“The secretaries will see his counterpart Jaishankar while in New Delhi. While discussing our strategic alliance, they will mostly concentrate on our collaboration in the Asian Quad, the G20, our defense collaboration, and the Partnership for Vital and Innovative Technologies, which is coordinated by the White House and the Prime Minister’s Office “Lu threw in.