WASHINGTON/ NEW DELHI: As the India-China border stand-off continues in Ladakh, the US reiterated its position that it recognises Arunachal Pradesh in Indias northeast as Indian territory. Though this is a stated position, its articulation in the current contest is significant as the US also criticised “unilateral attempts” to advance territorial claims.
China claims the Indian state as its territory and had recently, in the middle of LAC tensions, again said that it doesnt recognise Indias sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh. A senior State Department official was quoted as saying that the US position on “some parts of the border” for sure was explicitly clear and it has recognised Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory for six decades.
“We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions, by military or civilian incursions across the border or across the established Line of Actual Control. And the disputed boundaries, all we can say is that we encourage India and China to use their existing bilateral channels to discuss those and not resort to military force,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official said that despite daunting global challenges like Covid-19, Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific region and the global economic downturn, India and the US were finding ways to cooperate and collaborate and there was an acceleration in the breadth and depth of the relationship between the two countries.
Noting India has been one of the victims of Chinese aggression, the official said that the US exercise of freedom of navigRead More – Source
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