Proud of India for standing up to Chinese aggression: US Senator

A top US Senator has praised the Indian government for standing up to Chinese aggression in a border dispute, hoping this would prompt other countries to be fearless in their handling of China.

The Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a bitter standoff in eastern Ladakh for the last eight weeks. The tension escalated manifold after a clash at Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.

"I'm very proud of the fact that (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi in India is standing up to them (China). I'm very proud of what Canada is doing. Not every country is running and hiding in the corner,” Republican Senator John Kennedy told Fox News in an interview on Thursday.

The United States and the international community has to make the Chinese Communist Party understand that we expect them to play by the rules, he said.

“Now, other than the United States, you know how many other countries trust China? None, zero, nada. But they are scared. China is the second largest economy. China uses its economic heft to bully other countries, and many other regions of the world are scared to stand up to them,” he said.

But there are some exceptions, Kennedy said.

"Australia's standing up to them. India is standing up to them. Canada is standing up to them. We need to join with our allies, not limited to Europe, and say to China, look, you are going to play by the rule. Or we're not going to do business with you. That is all they will understand,” he asserted.

“Huawei is an important issue. We've got to convince France and Germany that they shouldn't be scared. We'll take the lead, but the world needs to join together,” he said.

During the interview, Senator Kennedy slammed the Chinese Communist Party. “Communist Party of China led by President Xi (Jinping) is acting like a bunch of thugs. And the (US) president needs to stop it,” he said.

Kennedy said the United States wants China to become a responsible stakeholder in a stable world order.

“That means they've got to stop cheating, stop stealing intellectual property, open up their markets, stop grabbing islands in the South China Sea, stop bullying Australia,” he said.

“For 25 years the cultured cosmopolitan tuna tartare set, the experts, told us look, be patient with China. Free enterprise will change them. Don't stand firm. Give them what they want. Well free enterprise didn't change China,” he said.

Kennedy said that China has tried to change free enterprise. “And we have to stand up to them, not to try to dominate them, but to tell them to follow international rules. Now, Trump is doing that, and he has been the first president that I can remember who has done it,” the Louisiana Senator said.