WASHINGTON/ NEW DELHI: The US state department said Wednesday it “would not endorse” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in which he had alleged that the Narendra Modi government had driven China and Pakistan into an embrace.
“I will leave it to the Pakistanis and the PRC (the People’s Republic of China) to speak to their relationship. I certainly would not – would not endorse those remarks,” state department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday in response to a question on Gandhi’s comments in Lok Sabha.
The MEA, meanwhile, said foreign minister S Jaishankar’s tweets on Gandhi’s allegations were self-explanatory. “The external affairs minister’s tweets are self-explanatory. He had issued a series of tweets after the discussion in Parliament. I do not have anything to add to them,” said spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
In response to Gandhi’s comments, Jaishankar had said the former needed some “history lessons”, recalling that Pakistan's bonhomie with China was old , going back to 1963 when Pakistan illegally handed over Shaksgam valley to China, construction of Karakoram highway by China through PoK and the nuclear collaboration they had through the 70s.
Responding to another question in his press briefing, Price said that the countries are not required to choose between the US and China.
“We’ve made the point all along that it is not a requirement for any country around the world to choose between the US and China. It is our intention to provide choices to countries when it comes to what the relationship with the US looks like.
“And we think partnership with the United States conveys a series of advantages that countries typically would not find when it comes to the sorts of partnerships that – ‘partnerships’ may be the wrong term; the sorts of relationships that the PRC has seeked to — has sought to have around the world,” he said.
Price described Pakistan, which has All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with China, as a “strategic partner” of the US and said, “We have an important relationship with the government in Islamabad, and it’s a relationship that we value across a number of fronts.” Pakistan-US ties are on uneven keel as despite efforts, President Joe Biden has not made a direct contact to Prime Minister Khan, irking the Pakistan government. Khan was also not invited for a key summit on environment.
