US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of taking "incredibly aggressive action" in a recent confrontation with India over a disputed section of the nuclear-armed neighbours' border.
"The Chinese took incredibly aggressive action and the Indians have done their best to respond to that," Pompeo said in a news conference at the State Department. "I put this in the context of General Secretary Xi Jinping and his behaviour throughout the region, throughout the world."
At least 20 personnel of the Indian Army were killed in violent clashes with China's People's Liberation Army in Eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15, leading to one of the most aggressive border stand-offs between the two neighbours.
After high-level talks between the two armies and leaders, both India and China agreed to pull back from the contested spots earlier this week.
"I don't think it's possibly to look at that particular instance, Chinese Communist Party aggression in isolation. You need to put it in the larger context," Pompeo said.
"I have spoken with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar a number of times about this," he added.
Pompeo's comments reflect the deep running tensions between Washington and Beijing, which have been at loggerheads over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, China's actions in the former British colony of Hong Kong and a nearly two-year trade dispute between the US and China.
The Chinese military on Monday was seen dismantling tents and structures at a site in the Galwan valley near to where the latest clash took place, said the Indian government sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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