New Delhi: India on Thursday hit out at China for attempting to blame it for the Eastern Ladakh standoff, asserting that the “provocative” behaviour and “unilateral” attempts by the Chinese military to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region seriously disturbed peace and tranquillity in the region.
Justifying hostility
- China has said India’s forward policy is the “root cause of tension” in the China-India border situation
- It had justified its hostilities on the border with India in 1962 with a similar accusation
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said China continued to deploy a large number of troops and armaments in the border areas and it was in response to Chinese actions that Indian armed forces had to make appropriate counter deployments. He said China’s allegations had “no basis in facts” and that it was India’s expectation that the Chinese side would work towards an early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, on being asked to respond to reports about the Indian Army moving some of its latest US-acquired military hardware to the LAC, said India’s forward policy was the “root cause of tension” in the China-India border situation.