APEC Summit: As several countries report border disputes with China, Chinese President Xi Jinping rebuffed the claims on Thursday and said his country has "not provoked a conflict or war, or occupied a single inch of foreign land". At a dinner on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Xi said since China's independence, it has not provoked a conflict or occupied a single inch of land.
"Throughout the 70 years and more since the founding of the People's Republic, China has not provoked a conflict or war, or occupied a single inch of foreign land," he said after much-awaited talks with US President Joe Biden, where both leaders pledged to reduce tensions as they met for the first time in a year.
Is Xi Jinping's remarks correct?
However, in reality, China has border issues with its neighbouring nations including India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan and several other nations. Indian troops had recently given a befitting reply at the border regions when Chinese troops tried to infiltrate the border regions.
Besides, the Indian and Chinese troops clashed at Galwan, the same year the pandemic started. Since May 2020, when the Chinese troops tried to aggressively change the status quo on LAC in eastern Ladakh, both sides have been deployed in forward positions near Patrolling Point 15, which emerged as a friction point in the wake of the Galwan clash.
Over 50,000 Indian soldiers have been stationed since 2020 at forward posts along the LAC, with advanced weapons to prevent any attempts to change the status quo unilaterally on the LAC.
(With inputs from agency)
