India accuses China of ignoring all agreements

China’s repeated encroachments into Indian territory has been in “complete disregard of all “mutually agreed norms”. This was the strongly worded statement from the Union Foreign Ministry that tore into China’s claims that India is to be blamed for last week’s violence at Galwan Valley in which 20 soldiers died.

This is the hardest statement issued by India since the Ladakh standoff began. What is worrying is that no dates have been established for the next round of military talks. The talks are linked to China taking some positive steps on the ground.

In its statement, the foreign ministry said:

While there have been occasional departures in the past, the conduct of Chinese forces this year has been in complete disregard of all mutually agreed norms. The Indian side has never undertaken any actions across the LAC and has never attempted to unilaterally change the status quo. – Union Foreign Ministry

After the 15 June clash, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar suggested that China “reassess its actions and take corrective steps”. India has decided to increase its strength along 3,488-km of Line of Actual Control. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is also building up its posts with men and material.

Meanwhile the United States is reviewing its global deployment of forces to ensure it is placed appropriately to counter the growing presence of China given the increasing threat posed by China to countries like India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This was announced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

China has been fast expanding military and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region, triggering concern in various countries of the region and beyond.