'Why don't we stop trade with China?' asks Arvind Kejriwal amid India-China border clash

The Tawang incident is the first major clash between the India and the Chinese armies since August 2020 near Rinchen La in eastern Ladakh.

New Delhi, Dec 14: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday asked why can't India stop trade with China amid the fresh clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh.

Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal asked, "Why don't we stop our trade with China?"

"Most of the goods imported from China are made in India as well. China will get a lesson from this and employment will be created in India," he wrote in Hindi.

India and Chinese soldiers clashed along the LAC last Friday amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.

The Tawang incident is the first major clash between the India and the Chinese armies since August 2020 near Rinchen La in eastern Ladakh. Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in October last year as well and it was resolved following talks between local commanders of the two sides according to established protocols.

The ties between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry.

Following the eastern Ladakh standoff, the Indian Army significantly bolstered its operational capabilities along the LAC in the eastern theatre.

The army put into place an effective surveillance apparatus and there has been a substantial improvement in overall monitoring of the areas in the last two years, military officials said.

India has been maintaining that its relationship with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. India has been ramping up the development of infrastructure along the near 3,500-km LAC following the eastern Ladakh standoff that began on May 5, 2020.