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Japan backs India amid standoff with China, opposes attempts to change status quo

| New Delhi |

In a strong gesture of support to India amid the standoff in Ladakh, Japanese ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki on Friday said Japan was opposed to any unilateral action to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control between India and China.
�Had a good talk with FS Shringla. Appreciated his briefing on the situation along LAC, including GOI�s policy to pursue peaceful resolution. Japan also hopes for peaceful resolution through dialogues. Japan opposes any unilateral attempts to change the status quo," Suzuki said in a Twitter post after a conversation with Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
India and China have been involved in a border face-off since 5 May when tensions arose between the two neigbours over differing perceptions of the LAC that has not been formally demarcated since their 1962 war. Tensions spilled over on June 15 when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash with their Chinese counterparts in Galwan Valley.
India has reinforced its troops presence in Ladakh as well as along the LAC since the tension rose in May, and has also taken a series of steps to mount an economic offense.
The Japanese government has earlier, too, said that it hopes that the border conflict will be resolved peacefully.
�The Government of Japan�s position is that it is closely monitoring the situation, as it may have an impact on regional stability. The Government of Japan hopes that this situation will be resolved peacefully through dialogue between the concerned parties,� the country�s foreign ministry had said in a statement.
Japan is one of the members of the �Quad" � a group which also includes India, the US and Australia - that was formed to counter China�s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region and to ensure it remains free from any kind of dispute.