India-US military exercise near LAC violate the spirit of Sino-India agreements: China

Responding to the ongoing Indo-US military exercise 'Yudh Abhyas 22', China on Wednesday said that violates the spirit of the agreement between the two countries.

Beijing, Nov 30: China has raised objection to the ongoing Indo-US military exercise which is being held near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), saying that it violates the spirit of the two border agreements signed between New Delhi and Beijing.

"The joint military exercise between India and the US close to the LAC at the China-India border violates the spirit of the agreement between China and India in 1993 and 1996," PTI quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian as saying during a media briefing. "It does not serve the mutual trust between China and India", he said in response to a question posed by a correspondent from Pakistan.

India and the United States are holding the 18th edition of Indo -US joint training exercise 'Yudh Abhyas 22' in Uttarakhand's Auli. It is an exercise conducted annually between India and the US with the aim of exchanging best practices, tactics, techniques and procedures between the armies of the two nations. Last year, it was conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska (USA) in October 2021.

It is interesting to note that India had termed the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) attempts to move a large number of troops to the disputed areas in the LAC in eastern Ladakh in May 2020 violated the bilateral agreements which state that the boundary question is resolved through peaceful and friendly consultations.

US Army soldiers of the 2nd Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division and Indian Army soldiers from the ASSAM Regiment will be participating in the exercise, according to a statement from the Defence Ministry.

The training schedule focuses on the employment of an integrated battle group under Chapter VII of the UN Mandate and will include all operations related to peacekeeping and peace enforcement.

The troops from both nations will work together to achieve common objectives and will also focus on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. Also, both nations will practice launching of swift and coordinated relief efforts in the wake of any natural calamity.