Courtesy India Today

The United States has expressed its concerns about India’s neighbours using Chinese funds for terror threats.

By India Today World Desk: The US is deeply concerned that loans provided by China to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which are in India’s immediate vicinity, may be utilised as means of exerting coercive pressure, a senior State Department official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Concerning Chinese loans to countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood, we are deeply concerned that loans may be used for coercive leverage,” Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, told PTI ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s India visit.

The top American diplomat is travelling to New Delhi on a three-day official visit from March 1 to 3.

Lu stated that the United States is encouraging nations within the region that includes India to make independent decisions and not feel obligated to any external allies. 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 said.

ALSO READ | Biden invites PM Modi for state visit to US later this year: Report

Earlier, the Finance Minister of Pakistan, Ishaq Dar, declared that the China Development Bank (CDB) Board has granted a credit facility of USD 700 million to their country. The Pakistan economy is in dire straits amid depleting forex reserves and soaring inflation.

The country is desperately seeking a much-needed bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to pull itself out of a spiralling debt crisis.

When questioned, Lu mentioned that there has been a significant dialogue between the United States and India regarding China. 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, in response to a question, 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.

When asked about India’s military ties with Russia, he stated that Russia is facing immense challenges in meeting their global obligations for military agreements. 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.