India challenged by China’s ‘reckless aggression’ on borders: Rajnath

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ India is challenged by China’s “reckless aggression” on its northern borders, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday at the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

“Excellencies, in the area of defence, we are challenged by reckless aggression on our northern borders,” he said in his opening remarks, as per the US State Department read out of the opening statements of all the dignitaries of the dialogue.

Welcoming US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper, he thanked them for their “personal commitment to the India-US partnership”. He thereafter talked about Covid-19 pandemic and how both the countries’ economies have suffered losses.

India and China are engaged in a six-month-long standoff at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Both the countries had seven military commander-level meetings, but the border issue remains unresolved. The de-escalation of force at the LAC during winter is highly unlikely and both the countries face the huge challenge of logistics for their troops deployed in the area.