US keeps tab on clash at LAC by Sino-India

NEW DELHI: The United States on Wednesday said it was closely monitoring the situation following the recent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang sector.  It added that both India and China should use existing bilateral mechanisms to discuss border issues and that Washington was glad that quick military disengagement took place between troops of both sides following the incident.

The comment also came just hours after both India and the US “reaffirmed their deep strategic partnership”

At a media briefing in Washington, White House Spokesperson Ms. Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We are glad to hear that both sides appear to have quickly disengaged. We encourage India and China to use existing bilateral channels to discuss disputed boundaries. Again, we’re glad to see that there has been some disengagement on the clashes at this time.”

Meanwhile, following the 19th meeting of the India-US Counter Terrorism Joint Working Group and the fifth session of the India-USA Designations Dialogue that ended, the two sides released a Joint Statement.

It went,  “The two sides reaffirmed their deep strategic partnership for advancing security and prosperity for the two countries. They reiterated that terrorism remains a serious threat to international peace and security. Both sides strongly condemned the use of terrorist proxies, cross-border terrorism and all forms of international terrorism. They called for the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks to be brought to justice.”

The Joint Statement further mentioned, “The two sides exchanged views on the threats posed by UN designated terrorist entities and emphasised the need for concerted action against terrorist networks, like Al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Al Badr. They called on all countries to take immediate, sustained, and irreversible action to ensure that no territory under their control is used for terrorist attacks. They also shared information about their priorities and procedures for pursuing designations against terrorist groups and individuals.”

It added, “Both sides discussed steps to disrupt the ability of terrorists to travel internationally, including through information sharing. Participants also deliberated pressing counter terrorism challenges, including countering terrorist financing, preventing and countering radicalization, use of the internet for terrorist purposes, narco-trafficking and its linkages to terrorism and use of new and emerging technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Systems, Virtual Assets, and the Dark Web for terrorist purposes. They also discussed mutual legal and extradition assistance, law enforcement training, and capacity building cooperation.”

It also stated, “The United States appreciated the leadership of India in global efforts to counter terrorism and the recent initiative of hosting a special meeting of the UNSC Counter Terrorism Committee. The United States welcomed the Delhi Declaration which deliberated upon the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes. The two sides also discussed counter terrorism cooperation at multilateral fora such as the UN, GCTF, FATF and Quad.”

The Indian side at the meeting was led by the MEA’s Joint Secretary for Counter Terrorism Mr. Mahaveer Singhvi while the American side was led by Mr. Timothy Betts, Acting Coordinator for Counter Terrorism, U.S. State Department.