There is little evidence that China is seriously approaching the border issues with India with a sense of goodwill, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu told PTI in an interview. “We see little evidence that the Chinese government is seriously approaching these talks with a sense of goodwill. What we see is the opposite.
We see provocations that happen on the line of actual control on a pretty regular basis,” Lu told the news agency.He also said the US supports a resolution of the border dispute through “a negotiated settlement and through direct conversations between the two countries”. Lu said India can count on the US’ support as it engages with China.
The Biden administration official said the US demonstrated its support for India in 2020 during the Galwan crisis and it continues to “find opportunities to cooperate with India on information but also on military equipment, exercises and that will go forward into the years ahead”.
Donald Lu’s statement comes amid the ongoing border row between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In the eastern Ladakh area, the tension between the two countries was sparked by a clash in the Pangong lake area in May 2020.
Ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020, which marked the most serious military conflict between both sides in the last few decades.
Last month, a top American think-tank, the Centre for a New American Security, came out with a report saying the tension between India and China has implications for the US and its Indo-Pacific strategy. It said US policymakers must closely monitor the border tensions between the two countries and be prepared to respond quickly to future crises.
The report by Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to the president, recommended the Biden administration help deter and respond to further Chinese aggression along the border with India.