New Delhi: China has expressed its unhappiness over the joint military exercises between India and the US near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Uttarakhand. Beijing says that the exercises do not help build bilateral trust.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said: “The joint military exercise held by India and the US near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the border area violated the spirit of relevant agreements signed by China and India in 1993 and 1996, and does not help build bilateral trust. China has expressed concerns to the Indian side over the military exercise.”
India and the US are conducting the 18th edition of the joint military training exercise, ‘Yudh Abhyas’ in Auli, Uttarakhand, just 100-km from the LAC. The 15-day military exercises focus on high altitude, cold climate warfare. It is an annual event between the armed forces of two democracies. The previous edition of the exercise was conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) in October 2021.
China’s unease over the India-US military exercise stems from India matching its coercive military build-up on the hostile mountainous territory in Ladakh, where it entered Indian territory in 2020. Despite India’s push for resolving the border dispute through talks, China has shown reluctance to settle the boundary dispute and has instead doubled up efforts to reduce Indian influence in its own region.
