India’s rising military deployment root cause of tension on Sino-Indian border: China

BEIJING: India’s increasing military deployment and encroaching on China’s territory is root cause of tension on Sino-Indian border, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said.

Zhao said during his regular briefing while responding to Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s statement in which he said China’s military deployment along the border with India and uncertainty over whether Beijing will fulfill its promise on troop reductions remains “a challenge” for relations between the two neighbours.

The spokesperson said, China’s military deployment on the western section of the China-India border is a normal defense arrangement, aimed at preventing and responding to the encroachment and threats of relevant countries on Chinese territory.

“For a long time, the Indian side has continued to increase its military deployment in the Sino-Indian border areas, and it has continuously crossed the line and eroded Chinese territory. This is the source of tension on the Sino-Indian border,” he added.

China has always advocated the peaceful settlement of border issues through negotiations and does not support linking border issues with bilateral relations, he said.