New Delhi: China has once again been exposed over the violent clashes between People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops and Indian soldiers at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.
A top US congressional panel has said that the Chinese government had "planned" the June Galwan incident, as Beijing had launch a campaign to forcefully occupy territories of neighbouring countries.
The Galwan incident saw aggressive action by Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, resulting in the martyrdom of 20 Indian soldiers.
"Some evidence suggested the Chinese government had planned the incident, potentially including the possibility for fatalities," the annual report released by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) stated.
"Beijing ramped up its multiyear coercion campaign against its neighbors, provoking military or paramilitary standoffs with countries from Japan to India and much of Southeast Asia," the report added.
The USCC was formed in 2000 and it examines national security and trade issues between China and the US. It also provides recommendations for legislative and administrative action to the US Congress on Beijing.
Although the report does not explain what caused China to go on the offensive against India, it states that the biggest reason for the confrontation is the road being built by India in the border area, giving it a strategic edge.
It also highlighted that Chinese Defense Minister Wei had made a statement encouraging Beijing to fight, which was told in an editorial via the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times that if India is to trade between China and the US When it comes to battle, it will suffer a "devastating blow".
Beijing itself is engaged in building extensive infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control and after the skirmishes claimed sovereignty over the entire Galwan Valley which was a new claim. For several months, the stalemate of China India has continued, with Beijing refusing to remove the troops sent here.
The report also mentions Pakistan, saying that Chinese forces have acquired "safe and likely naval base facility in Pakistan".
On Monday, the Chinese Defense Minister was on a visit to Islamabad and a close relationship between Islamabad and Beijing is well known.
Image: Google
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