India and China’s relations are still ‘strained,’ according to the U.S. Intelligence Community’s newly issued Annual Threat Assessment, following their ‘lethal clash’ in 2020.
The assessment issues a warning that both nations’ ‘increased military postures’ along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) increase the possibility of a ‘armed conflict’ that may ‘directly threaten U.S. persons and interests, calling for U.S. intervention.’
Since the 2020 Galwan incident, relations between the two nations have deteriorated further. Both nations’ armed forces engaged in combat at Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, in December of the previous year after the Chinese side attempted to encroach.
The US report, released on 8th March, warned that the ‘previous standoffs have demonstrated that persistent low-level friction on the Line of Actual Control has the potential to escalate swiftly.’
The report also talked about India-Pakistan ties, and while pointing out that ‘Pakistan has a long history of supporting anti-India militant groups’, it highlighted that ‘under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations.’
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