The 18th edition of the joint India-US military exercise Yudh Abhyas it is currently underway in Uttarakhand, about 100 km from the LAC.
Yudh Abhyas is a bilateral training exercise, which has been held annually since 2004 and aims to enhance the interoperability of the Indian and US militaries to increase partner capability for “conventional, complex and future contingencies across the Indo-Pacific region” .
“The joint military exercise conducted by India and the United States near the Line of Effective Control (LAC) violated the spirit of the relevant agreements signed by China and India in 1993 and 1996 and does not help build bilateral confidence. China has expressed concern to the Indian side about the military exercise,” a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said in Beijing, responding to a question from a Pakistani news agency.
China must abide by bilateral agreements: MEA
As China’s Defense Ministry previously said, Beijing sees the exercise, which took place against the backdrop of the ongoing military standoff in eastern Ladakh, as a “third-party” effort to meddle in border affairs between India and China.
The MEA, however, responded by saying it did not understand the reference to “third parties” and it was China that had to abide by the bilateral agreements in the context of the standoff in eastern Ladakh.
“The India-US drills are something completely different, and I don’t know what color it was given that they aim there or violate existing pacts. I don’t have enough information to basically agree on that,” the spokesman said.
