Donald Lu, assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs, said that the Chinese loans to Pakistan and Sri Lanka may be used for coercive leverage. He made the statements while addressing a press briefing on secretary Antony Blinken’s upcoming travel to India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan. The top American diplomat is travelling to New Delhi on a three-day official visit from March 1 to 3 to participate in the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
Reacting to Pakistan finance minister Ishaq Dar‘s announcement that the Board of China Development Bank (CDB) has approved a $700 million credit facility to the country, Lu said that there has been a serious conversation between India and the US on the issue of China.
“Concerning Chinese loans to countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood, we are deeply concerned that loans may be used for coercive leverage. And we are talking to India, talking to countries of the region about how we help countries to make their own decisions and not decisions that might be compelled by any outside partner, including China,” Lu replied to a question on Chinese loans to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
“We have had serious conversations about China, both before the latest scandal over this surveillance balloon but in the aftermath. So, I fully expect those conversations will continue,” he said.
Lu said that Russia is globally facing a difficult time fulfilling orders for military contracts and that might affect India’s millitary relationship with Russia.
“We see plenty of evidence of that around the world. And if you look at press reporting, I think you can see the Indians are also wondering whether Russia will be able to provide for its defenses,” Lu said.
Lu quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar when asked if India avoids using the word ‘war’ in context with Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.
“India uses the word ‘war’ all the time. You heard PM Modi say, in August, now is not the era for war. You heard external affairs minister Jaishankar say in September, at the UN, that we need this war to end through diplomatic means and along the principles of the UN Charter, reinforcing territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said.
“And then, in November you heard defense minister Rajnath Singh say the threat to use nuclear weapons by Russia is totally unacceptable and at odds with the basic tenets of humanity. So, I don’t particularly see a reluctance to use the word ‘war.’ I think they use it all the time,” Lu said.
Lu insisted that Quad is not a military alliance. “The Quad is not, in fact, an organisation that is against any single country or group of countries. The Quad stands for trying to promote activities and values that support the Indo-Pacific – free and open Indo-Pacific, but Indo-Pacific that’s prosperous and supports the values that we as these four countries represent,” he said.
The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will focus on strengthening multilateralism and deepening cooperation on food and energy security, sustainable development, counter-narcotics, global health, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“The secretary, while in New Delhi, will meet his counterpart Jaishankar. They’ll talk about our strategic partner partnership but really focus on how we’re working together in the Asian Quad, in the G20, what we’re doing on defense cooperation, and the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies that is being run out of the White House and the prime minister’s office,” Lu added.