NEW DELHI: China has objected to the India-US military exercise near the LAC in Uttarakhand saying it violates the spirit of bilateral agreements for border peace.
The 18th edition of the India-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas is currently under way in Uttarakhand, about 100 km from the LAC.
Yudh Abhyas is a bilateral training exercise, held annually since 2004 and aimed at improving the interoperability of the Indian and US armies to increase partner capacity for “conventional, complex and future contingencies throughout the Indo-Pacific region”.
China needs to stick to bilateral pacts: MEA on Beijing’s objection to drill
“The joint military exercise held by India and the US near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) 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,” said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing, responding to a query from a Pakistani news agency.
As the Chinese defence ministry had said earlier, Beijing sees the exercise, which happened against the backdrop of the ongoing eastern Ladakh military standoff, as an effort by “third party” to meddle in India-China border affairs.
The MEA, however, had responded by saying that it’s China that needed to stick to bilateral agreements in the context of the standoff in eastern Ladakh.
“The India-US exercises are something completely different, and I don’t know what colour has been given that it is targeting there or violating existing pacts. I have no such information that I would be able to substantially agree to that,” the spokesperson had said.
The 18th edition of the India-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas is currently under way in Uttarakhand, about 100 km from the LAC.
Yudh Abhyas is a bilateral training exercise, held annually since 2004 and aimed at improving the interoperability of the Indian and US armies to increase partner capacity for “conventional, complex and future contingencies throughout the Indo-Pacific region”.
China needs to stick to bilateral pacts: MEA on Beijing’s objection to drill
“The joint military exercise held by India and the US near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) 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,” said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson in Beijing, responding to a query from a Pakistani news agency.
As the Chinese defence ministry had said earlier, Beijing sees the exercise, which happened against the backdrop of the ongoing eastern Ladakh military standoff, as an effort by “third party” to meddle in India-China border affairs.
The MEA, however, had responded by saying that it’s China that needed to stick to bilateral agreements in the context of the standoff in eastern Ladakh.
“The India-US exercises are something completely different, and I don’t know what colour has been given that it is targeting there or violating existing pacts. I have no such information that I would be able to substantially agree to that,” the spokesperson had said.