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India’s Defense Minister Says China Border Tensions Serious

The situation is tense but India wants to pursue dialogue with China for a peaceful resolution, Rajnath Singh says in parliament.

India’s Defense Minister Says China Border Tensions Serious
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on India-China standoff in Lok Sabha.

India’s defense minister told parliament Tuesday the current border tensions with neighbor China were serious and the result of Beijing’s violations of boundary agreements.

Rajnath Singh told lawmakers the situation was tense “both in terms of troops involved and number of friction points” but India wanted to pursue dialog for a peaceful resolution of the conflict that has been simmering since May.

Both Beijing and New Delhi blame each other for transgressions along their disputed frontier, the 3,488 kilometer (2,167 mile) Line of Actual Control. Multiple rounds of high-level military and diplomatic talks have failed to end the long standoff.

The nuclear-armed neighbors have both amassed thousands of troops, artillery guns, missiles, aircraft along the border since the conflict began. In June as many as 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in the worst ever violence between the two sides in more than four decades.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.