'Concerned' by Beijing’s attempt to intimidate its neighbors, says US ahead of India-China military talks

"We continue to closely monitor the situation, and we continue to support dialogue and peaceful resolution of these border disputes," the Joe Biden administration said.

New Delhi: Ahead of the India-China military talks, the United States on Monday (January 10, 2022) said that it is 'concerned' by Beijing's attempt to intimidate its neighbours.

While responding to a question on the India-China border dispute during a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden's administration is closely monitoring the situation.

"We continue to closely monitor the situation, and we continue to support dialogue and peaceful resolution of these border disputes," she said.  

"We've been pretty clear how we view Beijing's behavior in the region and around the world. We believe it can be destabilizing. And we're concerned by the PRC's attempt to intimidate its neighbors," Psaki added. 

She said that the US will 'continue to stand' with its partners on that.

Tune in for a briefing with Press Secretary Jen Psaki. https://t.co/vcT0bGztPD — The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 10, 2022

The statement comes ahead of the 14th round of military talks between India-China on the 20-month row. The talks are most likely to take place on January 12 at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point, on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

It is learnt that the major focus of the talks will be on disengagement in the Hot Springs area and the Indian side is expected to press for disengagement as soon as possible in all the remaining friction points including resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.

This is noteworthy that the 13th round of talks had taken place on October 10, 2021, and had ended in a stalemate.

Both sides had failed to make any headway in the talks with the Indian Army saying after the dialogue that the "constructive suggestions" made by it were neither agreeable to the Chinese side nor it could provide any "forward-looking" proposals.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and People's Liberation Army troops had erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Since then, both sides have gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

Meanwhile, on the India-US relationship, the White House Press Secretary said that the two governments will this year be moving forward on a wide-ranging set of initiatives.

"Back in September, the President hosted President Modi at the White House, and their meeting was about launching a new chapter in the history of the US-India relationship. At that time, the two leaders laid out their shared vision for the US-India relationship and we’ll continue to work closely this year," Psaki said.

This morning, I hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House as we launch a new chapter in the history of U.S.-India ties. Our two nations are the largest democracies in the world, and we’re committed to taking on the toughest challenges we face — together. pic.twitter.com/uO97X1upFn — President Biden (@POTUS) September 24, 2021

"You can expect our governments will be moving forward on a wide-ranging set of initiatives, from cooperating to fight the pandemic, scaling up action to address climate change, working bilaterally and through the Quad, expanding our cooperation and trading investments, cyber and in new and emerging technologies, and continuing to talk about — and, as always, we are focused on strengthening the deep ties between our people and our shared democratic values that underpin the relationship.  But, obviously, we’re going to continue to build from here," she added.