Leaders of the armies of 30 countries, including the US, met in India on Tuesday to talk about threats to the Asia-Pacific region. They were worried about China’s growing assertiveness.
In a press conference with his Indian colleague Manoj Pande, US Army chief Randy George said the area was “critically important” and promised to work together more to “maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Along with Washington and New Delhi, generals from Japan, Australia, Britain, and France also took part. These four countries are part of the “Quad” defense cooperation group.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned against the “wanton expansion of military alliances” while the generals were meeting. This was the latest in a series of warnings as Washington strengthens security ties in the Asia-Pacific.
Beijing has long said that any attempt to make the Asia-Pacific region into a NATO-like military union would lead to war.
Vietnam and the Philippines were among the countries that attended the two-day meeting in New Delhi. Both of these countries have long-standing territorial disputes with China.
This event began in 1999 and now has army heads and top officers from 30 different countries.
Pande from India said that the area had problems on land and at sea.
“These range from territorial disputes over large areas of land or, in some cases, over islands that were artificially made bigger to get land and build military bases,” Pande said, making a subtle reference to China.
India has also had to combine its traditional ties with Russia, which gives it most of the arms it needs and now cheap oil, with stronger ties with the United States.
George said, “The partnership between the Indian and US armies is important for stability in the region. The relationship between our armies is strong and getting stronger.”
