China pins blame on India for LAC conflict

WEI SAID IT IS IN INTEREST OF BOTH COUNTRIES TO MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONS WHICH IS WHAT CHINA IS STRIVING TO DO

BEIJING: Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday blamed India for the ongoing border tension in eastern Ladakh, saying that the responsibility for the standoff does not lie with its country.

New Delhi has consistently dismissed Beijing’s allegations of acting provocatively since the standoff began in May 2020 and said that it was the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which trespassed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and tried to change the status quo.

Responding to a question on the ongoing standoff at the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ 19th Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, Wei said, “The merits of the China-india border conflicts are very clear, and the responsibility does not lie with China,” Wei was quoted as saying in response to the state-run tabloid, Global Times.

Wei said that China and India are neighbours, and it is in the interest of both countries to maintain good relations, “which is what China is striving to do”.

Wei said he had communicated with the Indian defence minister (Rajnath Singh) and made it clear that the responsibility does not lie with China. The two countries didn’t make much headway in the last round of diplomatic talks on May 31, agreeing only to continue discussions on outstanding issues and to convene the next meeting of senior military commanders at an early date.

India has maintained that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for the overall development of the bilateral ties. In February, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said that China had breached the agreements between the two sides. . “We had agreements with China not to bring military forces to the border (the Line of Actual Control or LAC), and the Chinese violated those agreements,” he said.