In a statement on Thursday, China strongly opposed the upcoming war games between India and the US near the Sino-India border, saying such a drill would interfere with the bilateral boundary issue as well as violate agreements between New Delhi and Beijing that no military drills would take place near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two countries.
Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for the Chinese defence ministry, responded to a question on the drill during the ministry’s monthly press conference on Thursday by saying, “We resolutely reject any third party to meddle in the China-India border issue in any manner.”
Several reports from Indian and foreign media have claimed that soldiers from the two nations will take part in a combined military exercise in October near Auli in Uttarakhand, some 100 kilometres from the LAC, even though the drill has not yet been formally verified.
It will be the 18th iteration of the bilateral India-US exercise known as “Yudh Abhyas” (practise for war), and it will take place at a height of more than 10,000 feet.
The drill will take place against the backdrop of the ongoing border disputes between India and China in eastern Ladakh, where both countries have stationed large numbers of troops and heavy weapons.
