'Glad that...': US reacts to clashes at India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang

New Delhi: The United States on Tuesday (December 13, 2022) reacted to the clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang and said that they are glad to hear that both sides have quickly disengaged. Speaking on the tensions being "pretty high" between the two countries, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US is "closely monitoring" the situation. 

"We encourage India and China to utilize existing bilateral channels to discuss disputed boundaries. Again, we are — we’re glad to see that there has been some disengagement on the clashes at this time," she told a press briefing.

Glad to see that there has been some disengagement on the clashes at this time, says White House on India China face off pic.twitter.com/N5C2GZpp5I — Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) December 14, 2022

India on Tuesday said that Chinese troops tried to "unilaterally" change the status quo along the LAC in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Indian Army compelled China's PLA to retreat through its "firm and resolute" response.

It, notably, was the first major clash between the Indian and Chinese armies since the fierce face-off in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. This was also the first major incident at the border after Chinese President Xi Jinping was re-elected for an unprecedented third five-year term at the once-in-a-five-year Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

The clash took place even as both countries held 16 rounds of talks between their commanders to resolve the standoffs at various points since the eastern Ladakh border standoff which erupted in May 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.

The last round of talks was held in September during which both sides agreed to disengage their troops at Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC are important for the overall development of bilateral ties.