China slams US general’s remark on Ladakh, accuses him of ‘fanning the flame’

China has called American General Charles A Flynn’s recent remarks on the country’s infrastructure push at the Indo-Tibet border near Ladakh as “disgraceful”.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the United States should work to enhance regional peace instead of driving a wedge between India and China. The country accused the US official of fanning flames through his statements.

Flynn had called China’s rapid strategic infrastructure building along the de-facto India-China border, ‘alarming and eye-opening’.

“Some US officials have pointed fingers and sought to fan the flame and drive a wedge between the two countries. This is disgraceful. We hope the US could do more things that contribute to regional peace and stability,” Phayul quoted the official as saying.

He said India and China will resolve the border row through dialogue and consultation.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in India has said that the allegations were without any factual basis.

Nearly two years after starting a border row with India in Eastern Ladakh, China earlier this year completed the construction of a bridge on the Pangong Lake. Experts have called the activity strategic. In February this year, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan informed the Lok Sabha that China had been constructing a bridge in areas that the country had illegally occupied in 1962.

India and China have conducted 15 rounds of talks to defuse tension in Eastern Ladakh. The talks led to de-escalation in the Gogra Heights area and the Pangong Lake area last year.