India rejects China’s objection to Indo-US military drills in Uttarakhand in October

India

pti-PTI

New
Delhi,
Aug
25:
India
on
Thursday
rejected
China’s
objection
to
an
Indo-US
military
exercise
in
Uttarakhand
in
October.
India’s
reaction
came
after
China’s
defence
ministry,
referring
to
the
planned
exercise,
said
it
was
firmly
opposed
to
any
third
party
“meddling”
in
the
border
issue.

indian, chinese,

The
18th
edition
of
the
exercise
“Yudh
Abhyas”
is
scheduled
to
take
place
from
October
14
to
31
in
Uttarakhand’s
Auli.
“I
do
not
understand
the
reference
to
third
party
interference.
The
India-US
exercise
is
something
completely
different
and
I
do
not
know
what
colour
has
been
given
that
it
is
targeted
there
or
it
is
violating
any
existing
agreement,”
External
Affairs
Ministry
spokesperson
Arindam
Bagchi
said.

His
comments
came
when
asked
at
a
media
briefing
about
the
remarks
on
the
exercise
by
a
spokesperson
of
China’s
Ministry
of
National
Defence
(MND)
.

In
his
remarks,
Senior
Colonel
Tan
Kefei,
also
hoped
that
India
will
abide
by
the
bilateral
agreements
not
to
hold
military
drills
near
the
Line
of
Actual
Control
(LAC),
the
very
pacts
it
has
been
accused
of
violating
in
eastern
Ladakh
leading
to
a
prolonged
standoff.

“The
two
sides
should
stick
to
the
agreements
(signed)
in
the
past
and
obviously
that
did
not
happen,”
Bagchi
said,
in
an
apparent
reference
to
China
violating
the
agreements
triggering
the
face-off
in
eastern
Ladakh.
Indian
and
Chinese
troops
have
been
engaged
in
a
standoff
in
a
number
of
friction
points
in
eastern
Ladakh
for
over
two
years.

The
two
sides
carried
out
the
disengagement
process
in
several
areas
in
the
region
as
a
result
of
high-level
military
talks.
India
has
been
consistently
maintaining
that
peace
and
tranquillity
along
the
LAC
were
key
for
the
overall
development
of
the
bilateral
ties.

Asked
about
India’s
vote
at
the
UN
Security
Council
to
allow
Ukrainian
President
Volodymyr
Zelenskyy
to
deliver
a
virtual
address,
Bagchi
suggested
it
was
not
against
Russia.
“My
understanding
is
that
we
have
not
voted
against
anybody.
It
was
a
proposal
to
allow
him
to
speak
virtually
and
we
supported
it.
I
think
it
was
the
third
occasion
when
he
spoke
virtually.
There
were
two
occasions
in
the
past
when
he
spoke
virtually,”
Bagchi
said.