China 'warned' US officials over India, told them 'not to interfere' in relationship

Following the Pentagon report to Congress, China has warned American officials not to interfere in its relationship with India. 

Throughout the standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, stressing Beijing's intent to maintain border stability and prevent the standoff from affecting other aspects of its bilateral relationship with India, according to a Pentagon report released on Tuesday.

According to the Pentagon's most recent report to Congress on China's military buildup, "The People's Republic of China (PRC) wants to evade border tensions causing India to work more closely with the US. Officials in the PRC have warned US officials not to interfere in the PRC's relationship with India."

In a section on the China-India border, the Pentagon added that, throughout 2021, PLA continued to deploy forces and build infrastructure along the LAC. According to the report, negotiations made little progress as both sides were unwilling to give up perceived advantages on the border.

Beginning in May 2020, Chinese and Indian forces clashed in multiple locations along the LAC with rocks, batons, and clubs wrapped in barbed wire. The standoff prompted the buildup of forces on both sides of the border.

The report said, "Each country demanded the withdrawal of the other's forces and a return to pre-standoff conditions. Those conditions were not accepted by China or India."

India accused China of conducting aggressive incursions into Indian territory, while the PRC blamed the standoff on Indian infrastructure development that it viewed as encroaching on PRC territory.

Since the 2020 clash, the PLA has maintained a constant force presence and continued building infrastructure along the LAC.

The report states that the 2020 Galwan Valley incident was the deadliest clash between the two countries in the past 46 years.

Patrols clashed in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, killing approximately twenty Indian soldiers and four PLA soldiers, according to PRC officials, it added. 

(With inputs from PTI)

Also read: Unprecedented 'anti-Xi' protests in China; sale of ventilators and oxygen machines surges amid Covid spike

Also read: On BBC's reporter 'detained, assaulted' claim, China says, 'He didn't identify himself as a journalist'

• Beijing
• China
• Galwan
• India
• LAC
• Line of Actual Control
• America