As some politicians criticised China for selecting a PLA soldier, who was a part of the military leadership that attacked Indian forces in the Galwan Valley in 2020, as a torchbearer for the Beijing Winter Olympics, the United States declared that it stands with India against Chinese aggression.
“When it comes to the India-China border situation, we continue to support direct dialogue and a peaceful resolution of the disputes,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday.
“We have previously voiced our concerns on Beijing’s pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours. As we always do, we stand with friends. We stand with partners and allies to advance our shared prosperity, security and values in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Earlier in the day, two prominent US senators criticised China for choosing to designate Qi Fabao, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) regimental commander, as the torchbearer for the Games Torch Relay. Fabao was hurt during a border skirmish with Indian soldiers in June 2020 in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.
“Another outrageous example of the #CCP’s flagrant politicization of Beijing2022. Their decision to choose a soldier who participated in a 2020 ambush against Indian troops as torchbearer is appalling and deliberately provocative,” Senator Marco Rubio said.
The Florida senator declared his support for India. Senator Jim Risch, a ranking member of the influential US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated in another tweet that the US will keep up its support for India’s sovereignty.
“It’s shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics 2022 who’s part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The US will continue to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India,” Risch tweeted.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that the Chinese Communist Party and administration were attempting to use the spectacle of the Olympics to present a front that would divert attention away from grave violations of human rights occurring in China.
“These efforts generate many questions that the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) explored throughout 2021 regarding the policies of the International Olympic Committee, the nexus between major sporting events and human rights, and the responsibilities of governments, sporting bodies, corporate sponsors, broadcasters, and others affiliated with these Olympic Games,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rubio was on Thursday joined by several other senators, including Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Mike Braun, Ted Cruz and Bill Hagerty, in introducing the ‘No PLA Loopholes’ Act — a bill to close a loophole in the existing law to limit joint military operations and exercises between the United States and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The Galwan battles, the most significant military confrontation between China and India in decades, claimed the lives of twenty Indian Army soldiers. Although it is generally accepted that there were more deaths than five, China formally admitted in February of last year that five Chinese military commanders and soldiers had died in the Galwan skirmishes with the Indian Army.
The US, the EU, and a number of other western nations have boycotted Beijing’s hosting of the Winter Olympics because to claims that it has violated human rights in Xinjiang, notably the detention of over a million Uygur Muslim men and women in camps.
