In recent weeks, bipartisan support for India against China has increased.
Washington:
China has acted in contradiction to its agreements with India to change the status quo and challenge Indian troops at the border, said an influential bipartisan parliamentary group and hoped that Beijing would reduce its weapons and excessive infrastructure on the real line of control .
On Thursday, the Congress Caucus on India and the American Indian also expressed condolences for the lives lost in the Galwan Valley.
Troops from India and China have been stuck in an impasse of more than eight weeks in several areas of eastern Ladakh, including Pangong Tso, the Galwan Valley and the Gogra Hot Spring since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following clashes in the Galwan Valley that left 20 people dead in the Indian army. the staff is dead.
“As members of the Caucus on India and Indian American, we are extremely disappointed with the events that took place at the Real Line of Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley region on June 15,” said members. Congressman George Holding and Brad Sherman, co-chairs of the Congress Caucus on India and the American Indian said Thursday in a statement.
The House of Representatives Caucus on India and the American Indian, chaired by Holding Congressmen and Sherman in a letter to India’s ambassador to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said that ‘In recent months, the Chinese authorities have acted with impunity and have attempted to transgress. on the LAC, which led to diplomatic discussions to implement a de-escalation process along the LAC on June 6.
The letter was signed by seven other legislators.
“Only nine days after the agreement, the Chinese attempted to build new infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC,” the letter said.
“Dissatisfied with your government’s response, Chinese troops disregarded the recent disengagement process and erupted into premeditated violence, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers,” the statement said.
The bipartisan letter was signed by four members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, two members of the House Armed Services Committee and one member of the House Intelligence, Judicial and Agriculture Committees.
“We offer our condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers. We are disappointed that China has acted in contradiction with their agreements with India in its attempt to change the status quo and to question Indian troops at the border, “said the letter.
“I hope they will reduce their weapons and excessive infrastructure on the real line of control and maintain their long-standing and new agreements with India,” the letter said.
The letter was notably signed by members of Congress Ro Khanna, Joe Wilson, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Steve Chabot, Pramila Jayapal, Ted Yoho and T J Cox.
In recent weeks, bipartisan support for India against China has increased.
A day earlier, Senator Bob Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the American-Indian partnership, based on their shared commitment to democracy, is vital for upholding international law, international standards and institutions that can resolve disputes peacefully and diplomatically. and aggression.
“As India and China strive to disengage along the real line of control, I remain deeply concerned about China’s aggressive behavior in territorial disputes,” said Menendez.
“From the dead end of Doklam in 2017 to the recent violence along the borders of Sikkim and Ladakh, to the new claims of China on Bhutanese territory, Beijing has too often sought to redraw the map of Asia without taking into account his neighbors, “he said. .
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said last month that in an effort to grab territory, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) appears to have unleashed the most violent clash between China and the United States. India since these nations went to war in 1962.
“I am extremely concerned about the ongoing Chinese aggression along the effective line of control at the Indo-Chinese border,” said MP Eliot Engel, chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee last month. .
“China has once again demonstrated that it is ready to intimidate its neighbors rather than resolve conflicts in accordance with international law,” said Engel.
Renowned Republican Senator Marco Rubio also recently called the Indian ambassador to the United States to express his solidarity with the Indian people in the face of the Chinese Communist Party’s unjustified and illegal armed aggression.
