beijing English news | beijing, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

Amid the security concerns raised by the United States, Japan and Australia over the recent security cooperation pact between China and the Solomon Islands, India on Thursday said that it has made its position clear on the need for a free and open Indo-Pacific.Addressing a media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi made the statement in response to a question on whether India aligns itself with the security concerns raised by other QUAD member countries on the military pact between China and Solomon Islands potentially leading to Chinese military presence in the islands."I don't know if the QUAD made any statement, you meant that these three countries (the US, Japan, and Australia) made it and you are reading it as a QUAD (statement), I am not," Bagchi said."We have made our position clear on a free and open Indo-Pacific and the issue of how we see (the) behaviour of States and what are their concerns, I think we have explained it a lot, I think I would like to just reiterate that without going into the specific thing of this development," the MEA spokesperson further said.Earlier this month, China and Solomon Islands signed a framework agreement on security cooperation that neighbours of the South Pacific archipelago fear could open the door to a Chinese naval base in the country.Pacific countries including Australia, New Zealand and the US have raised concerns about the controversial agreement.China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced the agreement in Beijing, saying it would involve China cooperating with Honiara on maintaining social order, protecting people's safety, aid, combating natural disasters, and helping safeguard national security, media reports said.Australia said that China has intentions to build a naval base in the Solomon Islands to intimidate the continent.The United States expressed concern over the security pact between China and the Solomon Islands, saying this agreement will open the door for the deployment of Chinese military forces in the Pacific nation."We are closely following what China does in the Pacific Island region with interest," Japanese PM Fumio Kishida was quoted as saying on the development.On April 22, a high-level US delegation visited Honiara, Solomon Islands, and met for 90 minutes with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, along with two dozen members of his cabinet and senior staff.Addressing a separate question on India issuing tourist visas to China, the MEA spokesperson said that it is not the opportune moment to talk about tourist visas given the ongoing COVID-19 situation in China."I think you all are aware of the COVID situation in Chinese cities like Shanghai and elsewhere, I don't think it's an opportune moment really to discuss... resumption of tourism or issuance of tourist visas from China," Bagchi said"You are also aware that China has itself suspended the issue of most types of visas to India since November 2020, so I leave it that," he added.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

BeijingFOLLOW

Beijing, Latest News

A group of international experts on Tibet and China had a common observation that the Chinese government's act of arresting the six-year-old Panchen Lama of Tibet and keeping information about him as a well-guarded state secret for past 27 years has ...

Beijing, April 29 More than six years after China's shock 2015 devaluation roiled global markets and spurred an ... ...

Beijing, April 29 An airport in Guangzhou, capital of China's Guangdong province, has announced the cancellation of domestic ... ...

The US House of Representatives has passed legislation calling on the US State Department to submit a plan to help Taiwan acquire observer status at the World Health Organization (WHO). ...

China's economic hub Shanghai on Thursday reported 5,487 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 9,545 local asymptomatic carriers, Xinhua reported citing the municipal health commission as saying on Friday. ...

China, which is listed among the worst human rights abusers in the world by the Human Rights Watch, has asked Sweden to respect the "religious beliefs" of Muslims and other minority groups, protect their lawful rights and interest, said a media repor ...

Due to disagreement between Islamabad and Beijing on feasibility costs, Pakistan is likely to shelve the much-talked-about Main Line (ML-1) Railways project, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. ...

Amid the security concerns raised by the United States, Japan and Australia over the recent security cooperation pact between China and the Solomon Islands, India on Thursday said that it has made its position clear on the need for a free and open In ...