US Foreign Affairs committee 'extremely concerned' by Chinese aggression against India; calls Beijing a 'bully'

Eliot L Engel, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the US House of Representatives, on Monday, said that he was "extremely concerned" by China's ongoing aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China border in Ladakh, and accused China of being a 'bully' to its neighbours time and again.

Notably, China has moved up its forces along the LAC with India over the past few days, prompting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to note that 'authoritarian' regimes take "these kinds of actions". Yesterday, the Foreign Affairs panel chief, Engel, commented that countries ought to resolve conflicts according to international law. He also urged Beijing to respect norms and use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border conflict with India.

"I am extremely concerned by the ongoing Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control on the India-China border. China is demonstrating once again that it is willing to bully its neighbors rather than resolve conflicts according to international law," Engel said, adding, "Countries must all abide by the same set of rules so that we don’t live in a world where “might makes right.” I strongly urge China to respect norms and use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border questions with India."

Read Engel's statement on Chinese aggression along the India-China border, here.

"I strongly urge China to respect norms and use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border questions with India."
-Chairman @RepEliotEngel https://t.co/say45WUhBt

— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) June 1, 2020

For some added context, Indian and Chinese troops have been facing off along the 3,500-km-long LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim, after reports suggested that Chinese troops had crossed into Indian territory. Several areas along the LAC have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, including an incident of a scuffle between the troops last month. 

While the LAC is the de-facto border between India and China, there is no marked boundary or fencing along the line.

China has claimed that its troops were responding to construction activity by Indian forces while India has said the Chinese military was hindering normal patrolling by its troops along the LAC in Ladakh and Sikkim. Rejecting China's claim of trespassing by Indian forces across the Chinese side, the Ministry of External Affairs said all Indian activities were carried out on its side of the border, asserting that India has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management.

The stand-off assumes added importance considering the fact that India and China have had a long history of animosity, the current one being the most serious since 1962 when the two countries fought a brief war.

Three years ago, India and China were again locked in a similar faceoff in Doklam, a crisis that lasted more than 2 months, following which both countries established a mechanism of informal summits alternating between the two countries to resolve any problems that may arise. 

In the first informal summit in Wuhan in 2018, both sides gave "guidance" to forces and "committed" to work for the "common objective of maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas". This was reiterated again in the Mamallapuram informal summit that took place in India last year.

However, it is apparent that the two countries still have not been able to settle their border dispute and lay final claim to the remote territories in question. 

Last month, US President Donald Trump had said that he has offered to "mediate or arbitrate" the "raging border dispute" between the two countries, however, both New Delhi and Beijing later rejected US intervention, maintaining that there is no role for any third party in bilateral issues and that mutual talks are on to deal with the military standoff.