Top US Senator Chuck Schumer to visit India next week
Top United States (US) Senate lawmaker Chuck Schumer is reportedly set to visit India next week to hold talks with the Indian leadership. As per reports, the aim of his visit is to unite the "democratic international order" to confront the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) rise. Schumer will be joined by a high-profile delegation of Senate Democrats, who will also meet Indian business conglomerates.
Why does this story matter?
Schumer's New Delhi visit comes at a time when the ties between the US and India are at an all-time high. The Schumer-led delegation will be traveling to India from Germany, where it is partaking in the Munich Security Conference. Meanwhile, the relations between the US and China have deteriorated, especially after the controversy over the suspected Chinese "spy balloon" sightings over North America.
Know about Schumer's high-profile delegation
Schumer will be accompanied by eight top Democratic Party Senators, many of whom function as chairs of committees and are crucial in shaping America's foreign policy priorities, legislative agenda, and funding. Meanwhile, according to The Washington Post, the 72-year-old noted during his address in Munich that the US-Europe transatlantic relations must confront the CCP, while terming it "the most powerful autocratic force on Earth."
Need India to work with us to outcompete China: Schumer
"We must work together to ensure the democratic international order does not disintegrate in the face of an increasingly aggressive Chinese Communist Party," said Schumer in Munich. "And the task does not belong to the US and Europe alone: we need nations like India, the world's largest democracy, and the democracies of Asia, to work with us to outcompete China," he added.
Schumer's massage for India
"I will travel to India and deliver the same message to them as we seek to counter this looming threat. I urge Europe to do the same," Schumer further said. "India, with its democratic traditions, can be a very strong partner in outcompeting China. And India joining the western partnership could serve the purpose of advancing democracy," the New York Senator added.
Violation of American sovereignty: Schumer on Chinese 'spy balloon'
On the recent row over alleged Chinese "spy balloon" in American airspace, Schumer said that it violated the sovereignty of the US and showed Beijing's aggression toward the West. "It was a brazen violation of American sovereignty, an illustration of how China has continuously escalated its aggression against the West," Schumer said at the Munich conference.
No apologies for taking down spy balloon: Joe Biden
Separately, during his first detailed conference on the issue on Thursday, US President Joe Biden said he would discuss the matter of suspected Chinese spy balloons flying over American airspace with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. As per the news agency ANI, Biden also asserted that he would not apologize for taking down the flying objects.
Objects likely balloons tied to private companies: Biden
"The intelligence community believes that the objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions," said 80-year-old Biden said on Thursday. The US president also asserted that from now on, the findings of the federal administration's analysis of how to deal with unidentified objects would stay classified and only be shared with relevant Congress members.
Know about the Chinese 'spy' balloon controversy
The US has been on high alert since a white Chinese balloon was reportedly spotted traversing over several sensitive nuclear weapons sites on February 4. Following this, the US army decided to modify its radar settings to identify smaller objects and found three more unidentified objects that President Biden instructed to shoot down—one over Lake Huron, one near Canada, and another over Alaska.
