Washington:
In its initial response to the China-India border standoff, the Biden administration has voiced concern more than Beijing’s ongoing attempts to “intimidate” its neighbours and stated it was closely monitoring the circumstance.
A prime official of the new Biden administration also asserted that the US will stand with its allies to advance its shared values in the strategically-important Indo-Pacific area.
“We are closely monitoring the situation. We note the ongoing talks between the governments of India and China and continue to support a direct dialogue and a peaceful resolution to border disputes,” Emily J Horne, spokesperson, National Security Council (NSC) of the White House, told PTI on Monday.
He was responding to a query on current Chinese attempts to intrude into Indian territories and occupy it.
“The United States is concerned by Beijing’s pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours,” Emily J Horne stated.
“We will stand with friends, partners and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security and values in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
This is the initial response of the Biden administration on the India-China border clashes. Former vice president Joe Biden, a Democrat, was inaugurated as the 46th US President on January 20.
China and India are locked in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh considering that May 5 final. The two nations have held a number of rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the face-off, but no considerable headway has been produced so far.
The evolving circumstance in the Indo-Pacific area in the wake of China’s growing military muscle-flexing has turn into a main speaking point amongst top worldwide powers. The US has been favouring generating Quad a safety architecture to verify China”s developing assertiveness.
China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. Beijing has also produced substantial progress in militarising its man-produced islands in the previous handful of years.
Beijing claims sovereignty more than all of the South China Sea. But Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims. In the East China Sea, China has territorial disputes with Japan.
The South China Sea and the East China Sea are stated to be wealthy in minerals, oil and other all-natural sources. They are also important to worldwide trade. Although the US lays no claims to the disputed waters, it has challenged China’s developing territorial claims in the South China Sea by deploying warships and fighter jets to assert freedom of navigation and overflight patrols in the strategically-important area.
Addressing a joint session of Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind final week stated India had strengthened its military presence at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) along with the two countries” shared border to defend its sovereignty.
“My government is fully committed to the protection of the interests of the nation and is also vigilant. Additional forces have been deployed to protect India’s sovereignty over the LAC,” Ram Nath Kovind stated.