Team Blitz India
EVEN as the stalemate at the border continues after the latest round of India-China military talks, India’s Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said that India has stood strongly against a “bully” China at the border and hoped that the United States will “be there in case we need their support”.
Since April and May of 2020, Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff at various points in eastern Ladakh. In June 2020, this led to a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley that claimed the lives of at least 24 soldiers.
Over the past four years, numerous rounds of talks have taken place but many unresolved issues persist. At the latest 21st round of India-China corps commander-level meetings, no significant progress towards a resolution was evident.
Meanwhile, Aramane highlighted the crucial support provided by the United States, including equipment suitable for high-altitude conflict, which proved invaluable to the Indian army during the tense early months of the standoff.
“We will continue to discuss the challenges we face with our northern neighbour. The possibility that we may encounter a similar situation. What we faced in 2020 is keeping us active all the time,” he said at an event organised to encourage collaboration between the Indian and US defence industries.
Aramane continued: “The one thing which helped us very quickly in the entire episode was the intelligence, the situation awareness, which the US equipment and US government could help us with.”
He asserted that it was essential that India felt assured of the United States’ support against a shared “threat”. “A strong resolve that we support each other in the face of a common threat is going to be of critical importance to us,” he said.
This is perhaps the most explicit articulation by a senior Indian Government official that India’s defence cooperation with the United States is geared towards fending off China.
