New Delhi: The White House has said the Biden administration is glad that both India and China quickly disengaged after clashing in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector.
During a press briefing on Tuesday (local time), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US is closely monitoring the situation and encourages both sides to utilise existing bilateral channels to discuss disputed boundaries.
“The Department of Defense continues to closely watch developments along the line of actual control, LAC. We have seen the People’s Republic of China continue to amass forces and build military infrastructure along the LAC,” Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said during a press briefing.
The statement came after the Chinese troops tried to “unilaterally” change the status quo along the LAC in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector leading to clashes between the troops of the two countries on December 9, the first since the Galwan Valley in June 2020.
“It does reflect the growing trend by the PRC to assert itself and to be provocative in areas directed towards US Allies and our partners in Indo Pacific. We will continue to remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the security of our partners. We fully support India’s ongoing efforts to de-escalate the situation,” the Pentagon spokesperson added.
According to Army officers, around 200 Chinese soldiers tried to transgress the LAC, but the Indian troops contested the PLA attempts in a “firm and resolute manner”. “This face-off led to minor injuries to few personnel from both sides,” an officer in the Army said. however, both sides immediately disengaged from the area.
The US State Department, reacting to Chinese forces crossing LAC, said India is an important strategic partner of the United States and added that it strongly opposes any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions.
“On China and India, we’re closely monitoring the situation. We are glad to hear that both sides appear to have quickly disengaged from the clashes. I don’t have anything to offer in terms of the timing behind the most recent clashes, but we’re continuing to monitor very closely and to engage with our Indian partners,” Ned Price, spokesman for the United States Department of State, said.
“India is indeed an important strategic partner of the United States bilaterally, in the Quad, and other multilateral fora as well. So, we’re always, with that in mind, in close contact with our Indian partners, both from our mission in India as well as from the State Department here in Washington,” he added.
He further said, “We do strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions, military or civilian, across the border at the established Line of Actual Control, and we encourage India and China to utilize existing bilateral channels to discuss disputed boundaries.”
It is the first major clash between the Indian and Chinese armies since the fierce face-off in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
This is also the first major incident at the border after Chinese President Xi Jinping was re-elected for an unprecedented third five-year term at the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
