US Reviewing Force Deployment To Counter China's Threat To India, Others: Mike Pompeo

The United States is reviewing the global deployment of its troops, to counter China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), amid its increasing threat to Asian countries like India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday.

"We're going to make sure we're postured appropriately to counter the PLA. We think about the challenge of our times, and we're going to make sure we have resources in place to do that," Pompeo as quoted by the media.

The response was recorded during the virtual Brussels Forum 2020 of the German Marshall Fund.

His remarks come in the midst of ongoing talks between India and China to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), after the violent clashes between both the countries in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley earlier this month, where 20 Indian soldiers were killed along with 76 injured.

Pompeo informed that the review has been done under the directions of the US President Donald Trump.

According to the proposal, the strength of the US troops in Germany will be reduced from 52,000 to 25,000.

"The decision that the president made with respect to Germany is an outcome from a collective set of decisions about how we're going to posture our resources around the world, and has been taken in consultation with allies and friends" said the top American diplomat.

However, according to the media report, many critics condemned Trump's move for reducing the force in Germany, stating that this would increase the threat from Russia to Europe, to which Pompeo showed complete disagreement.

Last week, Pompeo criticized China for the border conflict with India and militarizing the strategic South China Sea.

"The PLA (China's People's Liberation Army) has escalated border tensions – we see it today in India... and we watch as it militarizes the South China Sea and illegally claims more territory there," Reuters quoted Pompeo.

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