Mike Pompeo has already arrived in New Delhi and he was accompanied by his wife Susan.

The visiting dignitaries will be hosted by Rajnath Singh and Jaishankar for dinner. It is expected that the two sides may finalise the long-pending Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. They will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the stay in the national capital.

The signing of the agreement would allow the United States to share precision satellite and topographical data from its constellation of military satellites on a real-time basis.

China defense cooperation, foundational agreements and other regional issues will be the prime focus of the meeting.

“We have made significant progress towards concluding the last foundational defence enabling agreement – the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement or BECA,” senior officials of the Trump administration said last week in an online news briefing.

“This agreement will allow for expanded geospatial information sharing between our Armed Forces. We are also seeking to expand secure communication capabilities between our respective militaries as well as between our foreign defence ministries and that figures prominently in what we are trying to accomplish in the information-sharing space,” they added.

Pompeo will also travel to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. These countries were struggling with a mountain of Chinese debt incurred to finance big infrastructure projects. The visit also assumes importance on the backdrop of China’s expansionist designs in the region.

Pompeo will conclude his trip in Indonesia, a week before the US presidential election, which is also locked in territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

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India had a chance to move “supply chains away from China and reduce its reliance on Chinese companies in areas like telecommunications, medical supplies and others,” Pompeo said at the U.S.-India Business Council’s India Ideas Summit, being conducted online.

India is in this position because it has earned the trust of many nations around the world, including the United States,” Pompeo said.

The U.S. administration has head-on blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic and accused Chinese firms like Huawei Technologies Co Ltd of cyberspying and facilitating human rights violations in China. However Huawei and Beijing denied charges.

The United States has also criticised China’s new national security law for the former British colony of Hong Kong.

The United States has told China to close its consulate in Houston in a dramatic deterioration in ties between the world’s two biggest economies amid accusations of Chinese espionage.
The US President said that there are possibilities for closure of more Chinese embassies in the country.

India’s relations with China have strained following a border clash in the Himalayas last month in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

Pompeo accused the Chinese of initiating the conflict, also denied by Beijing.

“The recent clashes initiated by the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) are just the latest examples of the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) unacceptable behaviour,” Pompeo said.

India, which recently banned dozens of Chinese apps in the country, including the popular TikTok video app, has not yet taken a call on Huawei after allowing the Chinese telecoms company to participate in trials for 5G networks.

India is the world’s main generic drug supplier and its dependence on Chinese raw materials for its medicines is almost 70%.

Separately, India’s ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said New Delhi was open to U.S. firms building manufacturing plants in the country.

India’s military confrontation with China prompted calls for closer security ties with the United States and its allies, including Japan.

India is modernising its military to narrow a gap with China and has increasingly turned towards the United States over its traditional supplier, Russia.

“The United States has never been more supportive of India’s security. India too, is an important partner and a key pillar of President (Donald) Trump’s foreign policy,” Mr.Pompeo said.

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According to various media reports, Pompeo told a leading US news channel that “it’s something we’re looking at.”

The move comes amidst tensions between China and the US on a range of issues. The top US diplomat has led Trump administration officials in criticising Beijing for a lack of transparency and disinformation campaign on the coronavirus since it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

US experts had called for the ban on Tik Tok citing the handling of user data and threats posing to national security. Tik Tok owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, has been trying to solve the issues by disassociation with their origin country. Australia also has been vocal about the need to ban Chinese social media apps.

India had banned Tik Tok along with 58 other Chinese apps after the border clash between India and China at Galwan Valley.

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The U.S. will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials who backed Hong Kong legislation. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on June 26 that the sanctions targeted current and former party officials who are responsible for undermining freedoms in Hong Kong. But he did not disclose the name of the Chinese officials. Pompeo noted that the latest move followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s promise to punish Beijing over a proposed security law that could take away Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Calling the U.S. decision a “mistake”, Chinese embassy in Washington said that the move should be withdrawn immediately and US should stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs.

This comes a few days ahead of a meeting of Chinese Parliament. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will discuss the new law at its meeting, starting Sunday.

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