'Glad both sides quickly disengaged': US 'closely monitoring' LAC situation after Tawang clashes

Washington, Dec 14: The White House has said the Biden administration is glad that both India and China quickly disengaged after clashing in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector.

During a press briefing on Tuesday (local time), White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US is closely monitoring the situation and encourages both sides to utilise existing bilateral channels to discuss disputed boundaries.

Price was responding to questions about clashes between contingents of the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA - as the Chinese military calls itself) in the Tawang sector last week. The Chinese, numbering about 300, came armed with tasers, knuckle dusters and other weapons - but not guns. The Indian military personnel responded, with swiftly deployed reinforcements, to the transgression and "compelled" the intruders to return to their posts.

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.